84 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ April, 
growing upon the Ash (Fraxinus excelsior ), in the Jardin des Plantes at Paris. 
I have tried the same union by engrafting, and had the plant growing for 
two or three years, hut it ultimately died off. This union suggested to me 
the idea of trying experiments by ring grafting. Accordingly in the month 
of April, or, as a rule, as soon as the sap was found to he freely circulating 
in the different sorts to he operated upon, I 
selected branches of the different kinds to be 
tried. I made two horizontal cuts at H inch 
apart through the bark, and a longitudinal 
one between them. The hark was then care¬ 
fully taken off by raising it with the handle 
of a budding knife. A branch of correspond¬ 
ing size on the tree on which it was to be in¬ 
serted was chosen, and a piece of similar size 
taken off, so that the grafted portion might fit 
in as exactly as possible. The ring of bark 
was then gently opened and slipped over the 
branch into its place. A little matting was 
tied lightly over to keep it secure, and a cover¬ 
ing of clay the same as in ordinary grafting- 
completed the operation. 
The following are some of the sorts ex¬ 
perimented upon :—Pear upon Thorn, Berberis 
Aquifolium upon Common Barbery, Bed Cur¬ 
rant upon Black, Bed-leaved Oak upon Ever¬ 
green Oak, Cotoneaster upon Thorn, Piptan- 
thus nepalensis upon Laburnum, Quince upon 
Thorn, Cerasus Avium upon C. lusitanica, 
Lilac upon Ash, and Cedrus Deodara upon 
Larch. In most of these cases the barks but 
partly united, and thus for the object intended 
they were total failures. The last two, how¬ 
ever —Lilac on Ash and Deodar on Larch—were operated upon with 
double rings at about 7 or 8 inches apart, and the union in these is perfect, 
while the trees are young, healthy, and strong. The Larch has fully doubled 
its girth above the upper ring, while at the base of its upper junction it 
has bulged out considerably, similar to a Nectarine or Peach when budded 
on the Plum, thus showing that the descending sap is interrupted in its 
downward passage. The Ash is just slightly bulging on the upper side of 
both rings. It may be some time before any sporting takes places in 
either case; but such a result may reasonably be expected in due time. 
I have thus briefly explained this method of grafting in order to induce 
