334 



HARDY FRUIT GARDEN. 



branches of which the stock and graft are of the 

 same diameter. 



Side-grafting is merely a modification of whip 

 or splice grafting, and is performed on a stock 

 whose head is not cut off, or on a branch with- 

 out its being shortened. The great utility of 

 this mode is the facility it offers of supplying 

 branches to parts of trees where they may have 

 become too thin, or making a branch in case of 

 accidents. It is usefully employed upon wall 

 or espalier trees that have become naked of 

 f r uit- buds towards the centre, while they may have 

 abundance towards their extremities. Branches 

 of the same kind, or of other kinds if desired, 

 may be by this mode put on at the base of the 

 old branches, and the young shoots trained over 

 them as they advance, thus providing young and 

 bud-producing wood at those parts of the trees 

 which must have otherwise remained in a state 

 of sterility. The same may be done upon stan- 

 dard fruit-trees with a like effect, and orna- 

 mental trees and shrubs may be again clothed 

 with young wood at those parts where, from 

 mismanagement or otherwise, they may have 

 become naked. There is only one disadvantage 

 attending this mode, which is, as the branches 

 on which the operation is performed have not 

 been cut back, the scions are less likely to 

 take : as the flow of the sap is not materially in- 

 terrupted, it is apt to pass without forming the 

 union between the graft and the branch. This 

 may, however, be so far remedied by bending 

 down the branch to as low an angle as possible, 

 which will tend to moderate the rapidity of the 

 sap's flow ; or a tight ligature may be placed on the 

 branch a little above the graft. The French have 

 a variety of side-grafting, which they call veneer- 

 grafting, and which they employ in working young 

 oranges and camellias. For this purpose they 

 form the incision in the stock by taking a very thin 

 slice out of it, and leaving a sort of shoulder at 

 the lower extremity, upon which the scion is 

 made to rest. This is one of the neatest modes 

 in use, as, if well done, the union becomes so 

 complete as scarcely to be detected afterwards. 

 Another variety of side-grafting is practised on 

 the vine in its dormant state. An opening is cut 

 out of the branch to be operated upon from 2 to 

 3 inches in length, and to the depth of about 

 half the diameter of the branch, the ends being 

 cut obliquely, something in the dovetail form. 

 The scion is cut so as to fit this space, tied 

 round, but not clayed, as the branches should 

 be laid down so' that the grafted parts may be 

 covered with moist soil. About a month there- 

 after the plants are plunged in a mild bottom- 

 heat, and in about the same length of time the 

 young shoots will begin to show themselves. 

 Wedge-grafting is also a modification of side- 

 grafting, and is advantageously employed in the 

 propagation of the Deodora and other Coniferse. 

 We believe this method owes its origin to Mr 

 Barron, who describes his plan in " The Gar- 

 deners' Magazine," and from which we learn that 

 both the scions and stocks are of the wood of 

 the preceding season's growth ; that the slit in 

 the stock is cut through the pith, and is from 1 

 to 1 \ inches in length. The scions used are from 

 3 to 5 inches long; they are inserted in the 



usual manner, and grafting-wax is used instead 

 of clay, as being lighter, and therefore less liable 

 to bend down the heads of the stocks. 



Root-grafting. — This method is often practised 

 in nurseries, in cases where stocks of the species 

 intended to be increased are scarce ; and at other 

 times, as in America and Germany, as has been 

 already noticed, to economise time, as the ope- 

 ration can be performed during winter and un- 

 der protection, so that, when spring arrives, they 

 may be taken out and planted in nursery lines. 

 One precaution ought to be taken in this mode — 

 namely, washing the top parts, at least of the 

 root stocks, to prevent the possibility of earthy 

 matter getting between the scion and stock. The 

 mode of attachment may be any of those already 

 described, as the whole difference consists in 

 forming a union between a scion and a root in- 

 stead of a stem. When the attachment has 

 taken place, and planting is completed, draw up 

 the earth around the neck of the plants so as to 

 cover the point of union. The rarer species of 

 oaks, for example, may be grafted upon the roots 

 of the common sorts ; and the otherwise useless 

 roots left on the ground, upon removing old 

 thorn hedges, may be used as excellent stocks 

 upon which to attach pear-grafts. 



Herbaceous grafting.— This is comparatively 

 a modern invention, discovered by Baron de 

 Tschudy, and consists in attaching the solid 

 parts of herbaceous plants, or of woody plants 

 when in an herbaceous state, to others of the 

 same or sufficiently nearly allied species, while 

 in a similar state. The tree Peony has been 

 successfully grafted upon the fleshy roots of the 

 herbaceous kinds of the same genus ; the melon 

 and cucumber, the potato and love-apple, have 

 been frequently grafted upon each other; and 

 almost the whole of the cultivated Brassicse have 

 been or are capable of being grafted on each 

 other. These latter are, however, to be regarded 

 more in the light of experiments than of useful 

 adaptations. In 

 the case of the 

 tree Peony, fig. 

 109, the operation 

 is performed from 

 the middle of 

 July to the mid- 

 dle of August. 

 The tubers throw 

 out roots in 

 autumn, and are 

 then taken up and 

 potted, and pre- 

 served under co- 

 ver during winter. 

 The operation is 

 exceedingly sim- 

 ple, and consists 

 in selecting single 

 tubers of the 

 plant, in which 

 a triangular notch, 

 a, is cut near its 

 top ; to this notch 

 scion of the 

 tree sort, b, is 

 made to fit, having two or three buds upon 



ROOT- GRAFTING THE TREE PEONY, a 



