8 



THE AUT OP 



and benumbs it. During the frosts of winter, grafting cannot 

 be carried on except in the shelter of the propagating-house, 

 where artificial heat and the other arrangements of the horti- 

 culturist will bring on vegetation to the desired extent at all 

 seasons. Grafting under glass, either in houses or frames or 

 under the cloche, is constantly practised from January to 

 March, and from July to September. 



IMPLEMENTS AND APPLIANCES FOR GRAFTING. 



Simple, handy tools, with well-steeled blades, and kept in 

 good condition, are preferable to complicated implements with 

 several blades, or bristling with salient or cutting points, 

 which may wound both the tree and the operator. The tool 

 with a fixed blade is more firm in the handle, but one with a 



The Secateur. 



closing blade is more easily carried in the pocket, the apron, 

 the tool-case, or the basket. 



The Secateur. 



This is an implement formed with two arms of steel or 

 iron, one of which terminates in a cutting blade, the other in a 

 blunt bevelled crescent, against which the branch to be cut 

 rests. The handles being wide and roughened on the back are, 

 in consequence, easier to hold and less fatiguing to the hands. 

 The secateur is used for the following purposes : — 



