February 8,1883. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER . 
119 
year’s wood cut it through an inch below the junction of the two- 
years growth, and cut it through again above the third bud above 
the junction. Commonly this will leave a shoot about 4 or 
5 inches long. Now look out for the lowest of these three buds, 
A (fig. 31), and putting your knife from an eighth to a quarter of 
an inch below it, bring the cut out at the base at the opposite 
side, forming the bottom of the scion into a wedge, 1 ; secondly, 
make a cut, beginning at the same point as before, and slanting 
exactly the same as the top of the stock, 2 (fig. 32). A little 
practice will teach you to make this slope always at the same 
angle ; it matters very little what the amount of slope is provided 
it is not a violent one. The depth of this cut must depend on the 
thickness of the stock and scion. If the scion is small, and the 
stock moderately small, this cut should go nearly half through 
the scion ; if the scion is nearly as thick as the stock, the cut 
should go just half through ; but if the stock is much larger than 
the scion, the cut should go more than half through—just beyond 
the pith. Thirdly, reverse the knife, and beginning half an inch 
from the base, make a cut upwards, 3 (fig. 32), to meet cut 2. 
Fourthly, if the scion is thick enough make another cut upwards, 
4 (fig. 33), beginning a little below the middle of the wedge to 
form the tongue to fit into the opening made in the stock by its 
cut No. 4 (fig. 30). Lastly, cut a thin slip from the opposite side 
about an inch long, 5 (fig. 34). 
Now fit the scion on the stock, as in fig. 35, slipping the point 
under the flap and the point of the tongue into the slit made for 
it, taking care to bring the two slanting portions into close con¬ 
tact, and, above all, being quite sure that the layers of living 
tissue are accurately joined. This can always be 
managed for one side, and if the cuts on the stock 
have been made of the right size, the inner bark 
will fit on both sides. The outer bark of the stock 
is generally much thicker than that of the scion, 
therefore the scion will stand a little within the 
outer contour of the stock. 
Bind the scion and stock firmly together, but 
not so violently as to bruise either of them. Begin 
about the middle, and first work downwards, and 
then wrap the yarn regularly up ; and if the scion 
is properly put on the two slanting pieces at the 
top will be brought into close contact by the pre¬ 
sence of the band. The top of the stock is the 
most important point for the union to be perfect. 
Finally, apply a coating of grafting wax or clay ; 
I prefer the wax. There is a sort manufactured 
in Paris that is used cold, and is the best I have 
met with ; but any of the common sorts made by 
softening pitch with lard or tallow, &c., and used 
warm, are far more convenient than clay, and a 
dozen grafts can be covered up with the wax in 
the time required for claying one. If, however, 
you like to refresh your early memories of clay 
pies, the application is made thus :—Take a piece 
of clay about as large as a rather small egg, roll 
it into a round ball in your hands, then putting it 
into the palm of the left, beat it out into a flat 
cake with the right. Take this cake and bend it Fig. 35. • 
round the joint, taking care to leave all the buds 
of the scion above it, press it firmly all round, and point it both 
upwards and downwards into a spindle-shaped form. You will 
find it necessary to use cinder dust or dry sand to enable you to 
accomplish this pastry-making neatly. Of course in using the 
grafting wax only a small quantity is applied with a brush, so as 
just to make the joint airtight, and there is no fear of smothering 
the lowest bud, which bud is finally to become your tree. The 
bud on the stock below the cut first made is merely for the pur¬ 
pose of keeping the sap at work on the side opposite to the scion, 
and if it pushes it must be stopped by pinching the end off, and 
later in the season the shoot must be cut clean off. 
Where the stocks are worked close to the ground, to prevent 
evaporation, and at the same time to keep frosts from the roots, 
cover up the ground to the top of the stocks with ashes or cocoa 
fibre. If the weather is very dry water well once a week, and a 
little guano added to the water will stimulate the growth very 
much. You must remember that the success of the operaticn, 
supposing the joint to have been quickly and correctly made, 
depends upon vigorous root-action. Any check to the growth 
through cold or drought is dangerous ; in working small numbers 
both can be securely guarded against, and very few failures ought 
to occur. This is the form of whip graft I recommend for small 
trees. 
Crown grafting, as applied to stocks much larger than the 
scions, will be referred to in a future issue ; but the scions or 
grafts should be cut off the trees or procured at once, keeping 
them cool and fresh until they are wanted for attaching to the 
stocks. 
THE GREENHOUSE AND ITS INMATES. 
{Continued, from page 576, last vol.) 
BALSAMS. 
Balsams require to be grown in very rich soil in pits or frames, 
which are heated either by pipes or, better, by a hotbed. Seed 
should be sown in April in pots thinly, and placed near the glass 
on a hotbed. When the plants are 3 inches high they must be 
placed singly into small pots, employing very rich soil. A single 
crock over the hole in the pots will do, as the soil will soon be 
filled with roots, when a further shift will be necessary. Soil 
composed of half manure and half loam, with some sand to make 
it porous, will suit them well. The plants should be regularly 
syringed to keep down red spider. Repotting, keeping up a high 
moist heat, and ventilating whenever the weather is fine, consti¬ 
tute all that are required to make handsome plants in a short 
time. Nearness to the glass and a little bottom heat will conduce 
much towards the formation of strong, stout, as opposed to weak, 
thin plants. Before removing them to the greenhouse they should 
be hardened a little. 
THE CAMELLIA. 
The Camellia is a universal favourite, and no amateur considers 
his greenhouse, however small it may be, furnished unless one or 
two good plants are among the occupants. The best compost 
for Camellias is light turfy loam with an admixture of char¬ 
coal and bones broken small, in order to keep it sweet and open, 
as well as to furnish food for the roots. For small plants an 
addition of a little leaf soil and a dash of sharp sand will prove 
beneficial. Small plants require to be watered more frequently 
than large ones, hence the necessity for sand to prevent the soil 
becoming soddened. Small plants root with less vigour than 
large ones, hence the reason for giving that root-encouraging 
material—leaf soil. 
The plants should be repotted just as the young shoots push in 
spring. Careful draining is necessary, for stagnant water must 
be guarded against or success will certainly not follow. Twin- 
potting is also necessary for the same reason. After the plants 
are potted the house in which they are placed should be kept 
rather warmer and closer than usual, so that an early vigorous 
growth may be encouraged. Occasionally dewing the plants 
after bright days with the syringe will be beneficial. Enough 
water should be given at a time to thoroughly saturate the whole 
mass of earth, and then no more until necessary. It frequently 
happens that the soil becomes so dry that it is not possible to wet 
it unless by steeping the pots in the cistern or a tub. The weight 
of the pot will be a guide as to whether the soil is too dry, and if 
there is any suspicion that dryness exists steeping for two or 
three hours should be resorted to. The fact that the surface soil 
is wet is no safe guide to follow. Overdrvness and overdampness 
alike cause the buds to fall prematurely, so both must be guarded 
against. 
After the shoots have become somewhat firm, and the flower 
buds have commenced swelling, the plants will be benefited by 
placing them outside, choosing a position where the plants are 
not too much exposed to beating winds. The pots should be 
plunged nearly to the rim in order to protect the soil from being 
too rapidly dried. They must be removed indoors by the end of 
September again. 
Mealy bug is apt to infest Camellias. The best cure is careful 
sponging with soap and water. Indeed, insects or no insects, the 
plants will be much benefited by an occasional cleansing with a 
sponge and warm soapy water. 
The following is a selection of twenty-four varieties of proved 
excellence. White—Alba plena, fimbriata, Princess Charlotte, 
Mathotiana alba, centifolia alba, and Montironi vera. Red or 
crimson—Madame Lebois, Rose de la Reine, Benneyi, Manara, 
and Bealii. Rose—Sarah Frost, L’Avenir, Halleyi, Madame de 
StrekalofI, Marchioness of Exeter, and Valtavaredo. Striped or 
marbled — Bonomiana, Adelina Benvenuti, Tricolor, Souvenir 
d’Amile Dufresne, Giovanni Santorelli, and Lavinia Maggi.— 
J. H. 
(To be continued.) 
Small Spots on Pelakgonium Foliage.—I recently visited the 
gardens of a gentleman who prides himself on his collection of Pelar¬ 
goniums : Regal, Show, Fancy, and the different sub-sections of Zonals. 
So attached is he to this favourite flower that I understand Messrs. 
Cannell & Sons of Swanley hold a general order from him for every- 
