HOW TO BUD AND ORAFT. 



41 



wood at the top of the stock, pass it gently around the latter, 

 withdraw it, and thrust in its place your scions, one after the other, 

 their number being limited, if you like, only by the size of the 

 stock, till they stand up like a crown around the top of the stake, 

 their little shoulders resting on the level surface for support. 



And now the inevitable wrapping, and the operation is com- 

 pleted, " for better or for worse," as a month will tell. 



Yet another method of grafting is there, termed " side graft- 

 ing." This is often also called "tongue grafting," and differs 

 only from "whip" or "tongue grafting" jiroper, in being performed 

 on the side of a tree instead of on the top of a cut down stock. 

 Where a valuable tree has lost a branch from any cause, as often 

 happens, and an ugly, lapsided appearance is the result, " side 

 grafting " is resorted to to supply the deficiency. 



Having selected the spot .where you wish a new branch, you 

 pare oft' the bark and a little of the wood, cut the scions to fit as 

 nearly as possible, and wrap them closely together. 



In all these various modes of grafting, while their success or 

 failure will be evident within a month by the aspect of the buds 

 on the scion, yet it is not safe, if good fortune has attended your 

 eftbrts, to remove the wrapping or clay for at least three months, 

 until the graft be completely healed over, and even then the re- 

 moval should be gradual. 



In some cases, to be determined by the judgment of the op- 

 erator, a ligature around the graft, or a stake to which the young 

 shoots of the scion should be tied, may be advisable for a year or 

 more, and often a bandage of moss wrapped lightly around the 

 point of junction will be of great advantage in retaining moisture, 

 and warding off* the hot rays of the sun, until the wounds are 

 completely healed over. 



There is still one more mode of grafting, which may aptly 

 be termed a " cross " between it and budding. 



This is called "flute grafting," and consists in taking a ring 

 of bark, with several' buds on it, cutting away a corresponding 

 ring from the stock and putting in its place the scion ring, so that 

 the edges of the bark equally join. This must be done in the 

 spring, when the bark parts most readily, and is the surest of all 



