146 



GRAFTING. 



the shoulder to rest upon the top of the stock ; and in this 

 manner may be put three, four, five or more scions, in one 

 large stock or branch. It is alleged as a disadvpiUtage 

 attending this method, in exposed situations, that the in- 

 grafted shoots, for two or three years, are liable to be blown 

 out of the stock by violent winds ; the only remedy for 

 which is, tying long rods to the body of the stock or branchy 

 and tying up each scion and its shoots to one of the rods. 



4. Side-grafting resembles whip or tongue-grafting^ but 

 differs in being performed on the side of the stock, without 

 heading down. It is practised on wail-trees to fill up 

 vacancies, and, sometimes, in order to have a variety of 

 fruits upon the same tree. Having fixed upon those parts 

 of the branches where wood is wanting to furnish the head 

 or any part of the tree, there slope off the bark and a little 

 of the wood, and cut the lower end of the scions to fit the 

 part as near as possible-; then join them to the branch, tie 

 them with bass, and clay them over. 



5. Saddle-grafting is perform.ed by first cutting the top 

 of the stock into a wedge-like form, and then splitting up 

 the end of the scion, and thinning off each half to a tongue- 

 shape ; it is then placed on the wedge, embracing it on 

 each side, and the inner barks are made to join on one 

 side of the stock, as in cleft- grafting. This is a very strong 

 and handsome mode for standard trees, when grafted at the 

 standard height. It is also desirable for orange-trees and 

 rose-standards, as it makes a handsome finish, covering a 

 part of the stock, which, by the other methods, long 

 remains a black scar, and sometimes never becomes cov- 

 ered with bark. The stocks for this purpose should not 

 be much thicker than the scions, or two scions may be 

 inserted. 



6. Root-grafting is sometimes performed, in nurseries, 

 on parts of the roots of removed trees, when the proper 

 stocks are scarce ; and in v/hich case the root of the white- 

 thorn has been resorted to, as stock both for the apple and 

 pear. In general, however, a piece of the root of the tree 

 of the same genus is selected, well furnished with fibres, 

 and a scion placed on it in any of the ordinary ways for 

 grafting small stocks. Thus united, they are planted so 

 deep as to cover the ball of clay, and leave only a few eyes 

 of the scion above ground. " A variety of this kind of graft- 

 ing, practised by Knight, is thus described : ^ Transplanting*, 

 many years ago, some pear-stocks from a seed-bed, ol 

 M'hich the soil was soft and deep, I found that the first- 



