GRAFTING AND BUDDING. 
337 
whether the scion has taken; it will then be either 
bursting forth into leaf or be irrecoverably dead. 
In this latter case, take off immediately the can¬ 
vass, clay, bandage, and dead scion, and let the 
stock push forth what shoots it pleases, and recover 
itself. In the former case, however, you must, as 
soon as the scion is putting forth shoots, cut olf, 
or rub off, all shoots proceeding from the stock 
between the ground and the clay, as these, if suf¬ 
fered to push on, would divert the sap away from 
the scion, and probably starve it; then carefully 
stake the plant, that is, put a small stick into the 
ground at within three inches, or thereabouts, of 
the root, and long enough to reach a few inches 
above the scion, which you will tie to it slightly 
with a piece of wetted matting. This is really 
necessary, for when the shoots proceeding from 
the scion become half a foot long, they, with the 
aid of their leaves, become so heavy as, when 
blown to and fro by the wind, to break off imme¬ 
diately above the clay, or become loosened down 
at the part joined to the stock. The staking being 
done, you need do nothing more till near the end 
of June, when you should take off the whole mass 
of canvass, clay, and bandage, but be careful in 
taking off the clay not to break off the plant at the 
junction. It should be done by a careful hand, and 
after a day or two of rainy weather, as then the 
clay is moist and comes off without so much dan¬ 
ger to the plant as when it is not. On taking off 
the clay, there is found a little sharp angle, left at 
the top of the stock; this should now be cut 
smooth off. The bark of the stock and that of the 
scion will heal over this, and the union is then com¬ 
plete. Lastly, it is frequently found that mould, 
and sometimes small vermin, have collected around 
the heretofore covered parts of the plant, accord¬ 
ing as the clay has been cracked by the sun. Rub 
off all mould with your fingers, (no instrument 
does it so well,) and kill all vermin in the sanfe 
way; and it is not amiss to finish this work by 
washing the joined parts with a little soap and 
water, using a small paint-brush for the operation. 
All these things done, you have only to guard 
against high winds, which, if the plant be not 
staked, as is above described, will very likely be 
broken off by them; and, in this work of destruc¬ 
tion, you will have the mortification of seeing the 
finest of your plants go first. 
Cleft-Grafting.—(Fig. 59.) 
Cleft-Grafting .—This is a species of grafting 
adopted in cases where the stock is large, or where 
it consists of a branch or branches of a tree headed 
down. In either of these cases, saw off horizon¬ 
tally, the part you wish to graft, and smooth the 
wound over with a carpenter’s plane, or a sharp, 
long-blade knife, (1.) 
Prepare your scion in this manner: At about 
an inch and a half from the bottom, cut it in the 
form of the blade of a razor; that is, make it 
sharp on one side, and let it be blunt at the back, 
where you will also take care to leave the bark 
whole, (2, a.) Having thus prepared the scion, 
make a split (1) in the crown of the saw-cut 
downward for about two inches, taking care that 
the two sides of this be perfectly even. Hold it 
then open, by means of a chisel or a wedge, (or 
when the stock is but a small one, your knife,) and 
insert the scion, the sharp edge going inward, and 
the bark side or razor-back remaining outward, so 
that, on taking out the wedge or chisel, the cleft 
closes firmly on the scion, (3,) the two edges of 
bark formed by the cleft, squeezing exactly upon 
the two edges of bark formed by the blunt razor- 
back. To make the two barks meet precisely is 
the only nicety in this operation; but this is so 
essential, that the slightest deviation will defeat 
the purpose. In this sort of grafting, the stock on 
which you graft is generally strong enough to hold 
the scion close enough within its cleft, without 
the aid of binding, and then it is better not to bind; 
but as it is also necessary to prevent air circulating 
within the wounded parts both of the stock and 
the scion, use grafting-clay to cover them over so 
as to effectually exclude the air; and cover the 
clay with a piece of coarse canvass, wetting it 
first, and then binding it on securely. In this way, 
the stock being strong, you may insert several 
scions on the same head, by making several differ¬ 
ent clefts, and putting one scion in each ; but this 
can only be to insure your having two to succeed, 
for if all the scions that you put on one head take, 
you must choose the two most eligible, and sacri¬ 
fice the rest, as more than two leading limbs from 
such head ought not to be encouraged. The sea¬ 
son for performing this sort of grafting, and the 
mode of preparing the scion, and the future treat¬ 
ment of the tree, are precisely the same as in 
Longue-grafting. 
Crown , or Bark-Grafting is a very ready method 
of grafting upon large, uneven, old stocks and 
branches. It is practised somewhat later than 
the methods above described, that is, from the 
end of March to the third week in April, because, 
in that period, the separation of the bark from the 
wood is more easily affected; a circumstance of 
primary importance in this case. The tree is to 
be headed down, the cut being made horizontally, 
and the section bored quite even and smooth; 
then make a slit in the bark two inches in length, 
next with the handle of a budding-knife, carefully 
open the bark for about a quarter of an inch; then 
cut the scion about two inches in a sloping direc¬ 
tion, in the form of a tongue, leaving the bark en¬ 
tire on the outside. The scion thus prepared, is 
pressed downward between the bark and the wood 
as far as the incision in the stock extends; the 
bark of the stock readily yields to the pressure 
employed, and the scion is supported in its situa- 
