20 



THE ART OP 



Grafting -Wax. 



In grafting, it is necessary to cover the wounds and cuts 

 with an unctuous composition, which will not have the defect 

 of drying-up or burning the wound, nor of running or cracking 

 under the action of the air or from being badly made. This 

 must be applied copiously and without stint to the wounds and 

 clefts of both stock and scion when the graft is fixed in 

 position. A well executed graft may fail in consequence of 

 the bad quality of the wax. Those modes of grafting in which 

 no cut surface is exposed to the air, bud-grafting for instance, 

 do not require any application of this kind. In spite of 

 numerous new inventions, good compositions are still few, but 

 those which we possess are sufficient. 



Grafting-Clay, or Onguent de Saint-Fiacre of the French. 



This primitive composition consists of two parts of clay and 

 one part of cow-dung. It is held on the graft by means of pack- 

 thread or a piece of rag, and presents the form of an oblong 

 ball. Some persons put a strip of bark between the cut and 

 the composition, to prevent the latter from penetrating into 

 the clefts. Others mix finely-chopped hay or grass with it, to 

 give it more consistency. Two thousand years ago, authors 

 recommended the covering of the " kneaded luting and glue 

 of the graft " either with a borage leaf or with moss. Grafting- 

 clay is much used in many country places, and is an economi- 

 cal composition, especially for the grafting of all sorts of old 

 trees. 



Warm Mastic. 



For a long time, nurserymen have manufactured their own 

 mastic. The composition of it varies ; the base being usually 

 Burgundy pitch, black pitch, bees -wax, suet, and resin. To 

 these ingredients some add ochre, hog's lard, flowers of 

 sulphur, Yenice turpentine, or sifted cinders. All are melted 



