GRAFTING AND BUDDING. 



7 



— that is, tlie new and living layers of inner bark or alburnum, 

 in the tissne of which the cambium flows. A perfect joining 

 is not effected except on this condition. A multiplicity of 

 points of contact is favourable to a more complete nnion, which 

 will also be assisted by a similarity of texture between the 

 scion and the stock, especially as regards the herbaceous 

 or woody nature of their tissues. Lastly, the speedy cohe- 

 sion of the parts depends on the skill of the operator, who 

 should know how to avoid wounds, or to cicatrise them, and to 

 J preserve them from the action of the atmosphere. 



Season for Grafting. 

 On principle, grafting should be performed while the sap 

 is in motion. When it is done in spring or in autumn, the 

 time should be chosen when the sap has begun to flow, or 

 before it has ceased to do so. In summer it is best to avoid 

 the period of its greatest activity. In all kinds of grafting, 

 the condition of the sap should be nearly similar in both scion 

 and stock ; when it is not so, it is much better to have the 

 scion in a less advanced stage than the stock. The season of 

 grafting in the open air is from the month of March till 

 September, that is, generally speaking; in warm countries 

 vegetation com m ences a month sooner. Certain plants also 

 preserve the flow of the sap up to October arid November, 

 which permits a delay in grafting them until that time. The 

 time most suitable for the different methods of grafting will 

 be indicated further on when we come to describe each 



; method. The tradition which ascribes greater vigour to 

 grafts made at the time of new moon, and greater productive- 

 ness to those made at the end of the last quarter, we consider 



! simply ridiculous. A calm atmosphere, and warm rather than 

 rainy or cold, is both agreeable to the operator and conducive 

 to the success of the operation. Heat, within certain limits, 

 stimulates the nutritious fluid ; while cold, on the contrary, chills 



