110 



THE ART 01 



of the graft or under the bandages should be looked after and 

 dislodged. A cleft-graft which has missed may be replaced 

 by a crown-graft, a shield-bud, or a cleft -graft with an 

 herbaceous branch. 



English Grafting. — General Directions. 

 The stock and the scion are usually of the same diameter. 

 They are cut with a slant in opposite directions, but at the 

 same angle, so as to fit exactly when brought together. Their 

 points of contact are sometimes increased in number by a series 

 of notches or tongues which fit into each other. The stock 

 is headed down to receive the graft. A rather large stock 

 may have two grafts. The scion is a portion of a well-grown 

 branch with from two to four eyes. This method is applicable 

 to most plants. In the establishment of M. Andre Leroy, at 

 Angers, hardly any other system is employed, but in other 

 establishments it is only used with stocks of small diameter. 

 The proper season for grafting in this way is in 3Iarch and 

 April ; the operation would also succeed in August and Sep- 

 tember, when the flow of the sap begins to decline. There are 

 numberless ways of practising grafting after the English 

 fashion, but we shall confine ourselves to three or four of the 

 most distinct. 



rdinary Splice- Grafting. 

 "Next to bud-grafting, this method is the most suitable for 

 apricot trees. The stock and the scion, which are of the same 

 diameter, are cut with a sloping or splice cut perfectly smooth 

 and even, in order to prevent the exudation of gum, which is 

 always fatal to the union of the parts. The two parts are 

 then fitted together as exactly as possible, and bound with a 

 pliant bandage of wool, Sparganium, or lime-bark. The use 

 of a stake or prop should not be neglected, and care must 

 be taken to ease the bandaging, if it should become too tight. 



