Grafting^ Budding and Inarching as Practiced Today 
By William Morrow, Connecticut.* 
GRAFTING is an operation in which two cut sur- 
faces of the same plant, or of different plants, are 
so placed so as to unite and grow together. The 
cutting", or portion cut off, is termed the scion, or graft, 
and the rooted plant, on which it is placed or worked, is 
called the stock. 
The art of grafting is of great antiquity, but it is not 
known by whom it was invented. It is spoken of by 
Theophrastus, Aristotle, \ irgil, and other ancient 
authors. It would appear, however, from their writings, 
that the principles were very imperfectly understood. 
Otherwise they would not have entertained the belief 
that the vine could be grafted on walnut or cherry, and 
the peach on the willow ; or that black roses would be 
the result of grafting on black currants ; for these plants, 
having no natural affinity, can never form a vital union, 
however accurately they may be mechanically joined. 
The modes of grafting are numerous, but they all de- 
pend upon one principle which should be well understood. 
But, previous to explaining this, it must be remarked 
that wood does not unite with wood so as to form a vital 
union ; for, after trees have been grafted for many years, 
it is found that between the portions of the wood of the 
scion and the stock, which had been placed together, at 
the time of grafting, no union has ever taken place. 
Organic mucus or cambium is a viscid secretion present 
in all living parts of plants, and from it all their organs 
are formed. It is most readily observed between the 
bark and the wood of exogenous trees in spring. From 
this substance a cell is formed, and the earliest condition 
of a plant is a single cell. This cambium or organizable 
matter is what forms the union in all modes of grafting 
and budding. It also forms the callous on cuttings be- 
fore roots are emitted. 
Some years ago, the editor of the Journal of Horti- 
culture, Dr. Hogg, of London, gave several instructive 
articles on this subject. He claimed that the cambium 
had to go through several changes after grafting, and 
become cellular, or vascular tissue according to the genera 
of plant worked upon, and that no union would take place 
until most of these changes had been gone through. 
Grafting and budding are done for various reasons, 
but the most common one is to put a choice variety of 
fruit or flowering plant on roots that are hardier than its 
own : many of our finest varieties of fruit trees do but 
poorlv on their own roots, where conditions are not for 
tlieir best advantage. The art of grafting is used to 
change fruit trees, already established, into other or more 
desirable sorts, and also to strengthen or retard growth, 
as the case may be. Thus, peaches are worked on plum 
stock, for forcing purposes, as they do not make so rank 
a growth as would be the case on their own roots. Pears 
are worked on quince for low, heavy or ill-drained lo- 
calities, and for higher land, on pear or apple seedlings. 
Thorn and mountain ash have also been used for pear 
stock, for very dry or gravelly subsoil. So there is al- 
ways a reason for the work, apart from the pleasure of 
doing it. 
Cleft grafting is most commonly practised on estab- 
lished apple or pear trees. Small branches, or side shoots, 
are better than on wood six inches or more in thickness. 
The grafts will take on either, but those on the small 
wood are in less danger of being blown off after the first 
year's growth. Grafting is most successful if done when 
the sap has started, but before tlie buds show the green. 
\\ hip and tongue grafting forms the best union on 
seedlings, or two-year-old stock. The stock to be grafted 
on should be gone over a week or two before the sap 
starts to move, and cut back to about where they are to be 
grafted. Young stock one inch or so in thickness can be 
left at this cutting, about nine inches from the ground; 
larger stock, if straight, can be left any desired height, 
for standards, up to five or six feet, but the low grafted 
stock will in most cases come out ahead. Plums, apples 
and pears can be worked the same, so far as the operation 
is concerned, but plums should have damson or plum 
stock. 
Budding is an operation by which a bud, together with 
a portion of bark, is removed from a plant, and inserted 
beneath the inner bark of another plant, or beneath that 
of the same plant ; this operation is sometimes performed 
where the natural buds do not push to form shoots, at 
places where these are necessary. As in grafting, only 
nearly allied species or genera will succeed when budded 
on each otiier. The main principle of budding is the same 
as in grafting. The union is effected by means of the 
organizable matter, or cambium, which exists between 
the alburnum and inner bark ; atid the success of the 
operation depends upon the abundance of that matter be- 
ing such as to permit of the bark being easily raised from 
the wood. When both the stock and the tree from which 
the bud is taken are in that condition the union is most 
readily effected. Buds are generally inserted in July or 
August, in which case they remain dormant, or at least 
do not push into shoots until the ensuing spring. 
The modes of performing the operation are many ; 
the principal ones are shield, or T-budding, inverted 
T-budding, square shield, flute, ring budding, etc. 
Shield or T-budding is the best and quickest made for 
most purposes. In operating, take a shoot from the 
tree from which buds are to be worked, and immediately 
cut off' the leaves at half the length of the petioles ; 
make a transverse incision in the stock, and from the 
middle of this make a longitudinal one. A bud should 
next be removed from the shoot, by entering the knife 
about half an inch below the bud, more or less, according 
to the size of the stock and of the shoot : with a clean 
sloping cut, pass the knife upwards and inwards till 
under the bud, and then slope outwards so that the eye 
may be nearly in the middle of the piece or shield thus 
detached, or rather nearer its upper end. In doing this, 
the knife will necessarily cut oft" a portion of wood along 
with the bud, which is usually removed by the point of 
the kuife and the edge of the thumb nail ; see that in 
doing so the base of the bud is not also removed. If 
this came along with the wood, leaving a hole, the bud 
would probably be unsuccessful, and another should be 
taken oft" more shallow, so that the portion of wood to 
be removed may be very thin. If the wood comes out 
clean with the exception of a few slight woody fibers con- 
nected with the lower part of the base of the bud, these 
fibers need not be removed, for, in doing so, the tissue on 
the inner bark is very likely to be bruised. With the 
ivory handle of the budding-knife, raise the bark of the 
stock at each side of the incision, commencing at the 
corners immediately below the cross cuts. In raising 
the bark, the handle of the knife should never touch 
the portion of cambium lying on the alburnum, but, to 
avoid doing so, should be slipped along, pressing against 
the inner bark. In placing the bud, see that it is set 
directly where it is to grow ; if it rubs up or down, the 
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