March.] THE NURSERY. 251 
last of all, such as were produced from suckers; for the last will 
continue to throw up suckers from their roots, much more abun- 
dantly than any of the former, to the great annoyance of the borders, 
garden, or orchard, which are not only unsightly, but they also 
take off a great part of the nourishment from the trees. 
When you intend to change the fruit of an old^espalier or wall- 
tree, always graft on fresh healthy branches, and as near the trunk 
as such are to be found; ten or a dozen grafts may be necessary to 
furnish the tree, the more immediately, with the kind or kinds de- 
sired. For a standard, six or eight cions will be sufficient to answer 
a similar purpose, always observing to cut out the far greater part, 
if not the whole, of the old branches, previous to grafting, and the 
remainder, as the young grafts advance in growth. 
For this purpose, you must be provided, I. With a strong knife 
to cut off the heads of the stocks previous to the insertion of the 
grafts. 2. With a neat small hand-saw, for occasional use, in cut- 
ting off the heads of some large stocks, for crown -grafting. S. 
With a grafting-chisel and small mallet, for clefting large stocks, 
for the reception of the cions in cleft -grafting. 4. With a neat and 
very sharp pruning-knife for cutting and shaping the grafts, and 
for sloping and forming the stocks for their reception; and 5. With 
a quantity of new bass strings; or, if bass cannot be had, with soft 
woollen yarn, to tie the parts close, secure the grafts, and thereby 
to promote their speedy union with the stocks. 
The next thing to be provided, is a quantity of grafting clay, 
which should be prepared at least ten days previous to its being 
wanted for use; to be applied closely around the grafts at the places 
of insertion into the stocks, and a little above, in order to prevent 
the air from exhausting the sap of the cions, before they could be 
supplied with a sufficiency from the stocks, and also to keep out 
wet, which would greatly obstruct the uniting of the parts: it is to 
be made in the following manner. 
Get a quantity of strong fat loam, in proportion to the number of 
trees to be grafted; then take about a fourth part of fresh horse- 
dung, free from litter, or a third part of cow-dung, it matters not 
which you make use of; or, if you please, you may use a propor- 
tionate quantity of each, mixing them, or either of them, well with 
the loam; add to it a small quantity of hay, cut very fine, and also 
some salt, which will prevent it from cracking or drying too fast in 
hot or parching weather; work the whole well together, and add 
as much water as necessary; after which, beat and incorporate the 
mass effectually, after the manner of mortar, and continue so to 
work it every other day, adding a little water as it becomes dry, till 
the time you want it for use. Be very particular during this period 
not to expose it to frost or drying winds; and the more effectually 
you incorporate it, the better will it answer your purpose. Some 
people use a composition of bees-wax, rosin, and turpentine, melted 
together, to put round the grafts in the manner of clay, but laid on 
warm and much thinner. This I conceive to be too expensive, and 
am certain, from experience, that it does not answer the end a whit 
better, nor even so well as the former, if properly made. 
