124 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[Apeil, 
with a space free from knots, and from 1 to 4 
inches thiclr. 
The Cions are best cut in early winter, but may 
be taken at any time before the buds swell, keep- 
ing them cool in damp sawdust or sand, until 
wanted. They should be straight, healthy twigs, 
of the previous season's growth. 
Covering Material. — Several kinds are used; we 
give that which we have found to be the best and 
least trouble, which is waxed cloth. Melt together 
beeswax, 3 parts ; rosin, 2 parts, and tallow, 2 parts, 
in an iron skillet kept for the pur- 
pose. Melt very gradually over a 
slow fire, and stir together thorough- 
ly. Some old muslin or calico will 
be needed, an old dress or sheet wiU 
answer, if so much worn that it will 
tear easily. Tear this into strips I 
to i inch wide, for small work, up to 
an inch for larger, or the strips may 
be two or more Inches wide, to be 
torn smaller, as needed ; they may 
be as long as the material will allow. 
"Wind the strips on a stick, as seen in 
figure 1, laying it on regularly, and re- 
moving any loose threads, as the wind- 
ing proceeds. When one strip is wound on, take an- 
other, putting its end under that of the iirst strip, 
as seen in figure 1 ; this saves much trouble in un- 
winding. "When the roU is of convenient size, about 
2i inches through, fasten the end of the last strip 
with a pin. Furnish the end of the stick with a 
wire, to hang it by. Have the melted wax ready 
and put in the roU of cloth, keeping the wax hot 
enough to be liquid and penetrate every part of the 
roll. When the roll is thoroughly soaked through, 
hang it up over or near the stove, and allow it to 
drain, catching the drops in the vessel. When it no 
longer drips, hang it away to cool. Prepare what 
rolls may be needed, as, if kept away from the 
dust, the waxed strips will keep for some months. 
Also keep the wax in the skillet covered. 
The Tonls required are : a saw with fine teeth, set 
rather wide ; a strong knife, and a smaller one, both 
very sharp, a wedge of iron or hard wood, a wooden 
mallet, and, if much work is to be done, a grafting 
knife or chisel, fig. 2. This has a thin blade and a 
Rg. 1. 
Fig. 3. — GBAPTING KNIFE. 
strong back, the end of which turns up to form a 
wedge ; the use of this knife wiU be shown present- 
ly. The wax strips, a lump of tallow, and some 
old cloths, for wiping the hands, may be included, 
which can be carried in a basket, unless one has 
An Orchard Box, which will be found very con- 
venient to hold all the implements required in 
ORCHARD BOX. 
working among trees and vines in the orchard or 
fruit garden. Figure 3 shows a box, from a draw- 
ing sent several years ago, by a very ingenious cor- 
Fig. 4. — ^APRON. 
respondent in Pennsylvania, and holds all the ap- 
pliances required in pruning, grafting, budding, and 
the like. It is a shallow box on legs, with an up- 
right partition under the handle. Some pouches and 
loops of leather and springs of hard wood keep the 
things in place. This box 
shows a lot of bass-strips, 
wrapped in oU-cloth, on 
the handle ; on the parti- 
tion is another case of 
strings, a pouch of grafts, 
a bottle of shellac varnish, 
(see notes for last month, ) 
a heavy knife, and two 
smaller, with a hone to 
sharpen them, a roll of 
waxed strips, a pencil, etc. 
The saw, mallet, grafting 
chisel, labels, and other 
needed articles may be 
put in the bottom of the 
box. We have found 
a shallow basket, fitted 
with partitions, very useful in the garden, and 
any handy person can fit up a box or basket, ac- 
cording to his work, that will save much running 
for and search after tools. 
An Apron will be useful ; figure 4 gives a pattern 
for one, with pockets at the breast, which will come 
handy when working in the tops of trees. The 
stick of waxed strips may be hung from a button 
above one of the pockets. 
When to Graft. — The best time is when the stock 
is just starting into growth, as shown by the swel- 
ling buds. If grafts are set before 
this, they are exposed to drying winds 
long before any union can take place 
with the stock. Peaches at the North 
do not succeed well when grafted. 
Plums do so faii'ly, when done very 
early. Apples and pears may be grafted 
from now up to blossoming time, but 
great care ia required in later working. 
Tfie Kinds of Grafting are many, 
some curious kinds being given in the 
French works on the subject. We can 
now give only the two most in use, one 
forsmall,and the otherfor large stems. 
Budding differs from grafting in be- 
ing done with a single bud, instead of a 
cion with several buds, and late in the 
season, when the buds have formed. 
The essential point in grafting is to 
bring the inner barks of stock and 
cion into as perfect contact as possi- 
ble. The growth of woody stems 
takes place between the wood and 
the bark ; the wood increasing by 
layers on its outside, the bark by new layers on 
its inside ; here then is the place where the work 
is going on, and new wood is formed to unite the 
cion with the stock. In 
every style of grafting, 
this part of the cion must 
touch somewhere — and 
the more the better — a si- 
milar part in the stock. 
Splice and Whip Graft- 
ing. — If the cion and stock 
are of precisely the same 
size, and each is cut with 
the same slope, (fig. 5,) 
and the cut surfaces put 
together and bound, it is 
evident that the growing 
parts of both will have a 
mde contact, and be very 
sure to grow. The diffi- 
culty with this,the "splice 
graft," is, that the parts 
are easily displaced. After 
cutting the slopes, as in 
figure .5, split each cut sur- 
face, as in the right hand 
of figure 6, then put them 
together, as shown at the left hand, and we have 
the " whip graft," one of the most servieable kinds 
Fig. 5. 
for small work. The notches not only help to hold 
the parts firmly, but increase the surfaces in con- 
tact, and wUI rarely fall. If the stock is larger 
than the cion, if the parts on one side are carefully 
brought together, it will succeed, and may be prac- 
tised on stocks even an inch thick. Only a sharp 
knife is needed for this. 
To Wax this Graft.— Tear off a piece from the 
waxed strip, and, beginning well below the cut, 
wrap, each layer slight- 
ly lapping the one be- 
low, as seen in figure 7, 
putting on the cloth so 
that it wiU adhere close- 
ly to the bark and to 
itself ; after winding, 
slightly grease the 
thumb and finger, and 
smooth the waxed strip, 
rubbing in the direction 
of the turns, this will 
blend the whole into a 
perfectly water - tight 
and air-tight covering. 
But most frequently we 
have the stock larger 
Fig. 
Fig. 6. 
than the cion, especially in grafting over old trees, 
and then use the oldest kind of grafting. 
The "Cleft-graft.'''— Saw off the branch of the 
stock, being careful not to tear the bark ; pare the 
cut surface smooti) 
with a strong 
knife. If the stock 
is an inch or less in 
diameter, cut away 
about half with a 
slope as in figure 
8. Then, by means 
of a strong, thin 
knife, or the graft- 
ing knife, and a 
blow of the mallet, 
make a split across 
this slope. Pre- 
pare the cion, 
which may have 2 
to 4 buds, by whit- 
tling it to a long ^. . -n- r> 
, ." Fig. 8. CLEFT GRAFTING. Fig. 9. 
even wedge, as m " 
figure 9, beginning at a bud {A) and tapering to an 
edge, making one side of the wedge somewhat thick- 
er than the other, as seen in the section at-B. Open 
the split in figure 8 with the point of a knife or a 
wedge, and insert the cion, as seen in figure 10, 
taking care that the vital parts, as before, come in 
contact, leaving the bud. A, just 
above the top of the stock. This 
bud is not absolutely necessary, but 
it is a center of active growth, and 
increases the chances of success. The 
slope in the stock is made because it 
wUl become covered with new wood 
and bark, and heal more completely 
than a cross-cut. When 
the stock is two or more 
inches across, two cions 
may be put in ; the 
stock being sawed 
square across and trim- 
med, is split as in figure 
11, with the grafting 
knife (fig. 2), the curved 
edge of which cuts the 
hark before the wood. 
The cleft is sprung open 
by means of the chisel 
point of the knife, while 
the cions are being in- 
serted, and when they 
are in place (fig. 12), 
this is taken away, and 
the springing together 
of the cleft holds 
them firmly. 
To wax this graft, take a strip of the waxed cloth 
an inch or more wide, begin below the cleft, and in 
two or three turns bring the edge sufficiently above 
CLEFT 
GRAFTING. 
