FE8.42 
THE RURAL HEW-YORKER. 
407 
GRAFTING, 
Saddle-grafting, Fig. 84, Is but little practiced, 
yet It Is a very effectual method. The accompany- 
It is simply his way of getting at Jthe end he has 
In view, and he well knows that the very next 
problem he undertakes may require the adop¬ 
tion of an entirely different and equally novel 
method. For instance, I know a distinguished 
grafter who finds he can use, with the best 
results, In a great many cases, what he calls the 
side graft, whereby the fiow of sap In the stock 
is comparatively little disturbed, and a union Is 
secured with a minimum of shock to the regular 
functions of the plant. But he does not always 
employ this side-graft by any means, and Is per¬ 
fectly aware that with different plants in other 
climates and soils a totally diverse method would 
often be necessary. 
1 have expressed m yself thus fully as to the dif¬ 
ficulties of grafting and budding, not with the 
object or discouraging any one from seeking to 
learn the art, because a fair knowledge of It Is un¬ 
questionably within the reach of any one who will 
pursue It persistently and with some degree of 
attention. It has simply been my wish to correct 
the common misconception that a few general 
directions and suggestions In essays and books are 
alone likely to do very much towards developing 
experts In budding and graftlng-the most difficult 
department of propagation. Bints and the state¬ 
ments of particular facts bearing on the practice 
of grafting, I believe to be useful as au assistance 
and stimulus to those striving to learn the deeper 
things of the art for themselves. 
To this end I propose to name a number of prom¬ 
inent ornamental trees, with something about the 
peculiarities of their grafting, in the neighborhood 
of New York. West and north, the peculiarities 
mentioned may In certain cases be entirely want¬ 
ing. I shall mention genera rather chan species, 
because, as a rule, the members of one genus may 
be treated In the same mariner by the budder and 
grafter. 
maples. k 
All the species of this genus cannot be grafted 
alike on the same stock, and they form, therefore, 
an exception to the rule just stated, it is a ques¬ 
tion whether we shall not find so many exceptions 
to this rule as to destroy its value, unless we strain 
the meaning of the old adage, “ the exception 
proves the rule,” to Its utmost limit. To the 
grafter the maples divide themselves Into special 
ana distinct types. Norway Maples must be 
worked , that Is, budded or grafted on Norway 
Maples; Sycamore Maples on Sycamore Maples 
and Silver Maples on Silver Maples. The sap of 
maples moves early In Spring, hence the operation 
of budding or grafting, to be successful, must be 
perlormcd as soon as practicable during late March 
or early April. The Sycamore varieties maybe 
budded about the end of July, as the proper move¬ 
ment of sap for budding begins earlier In this case 
than In other species, the budding of which must 
be delayed until August. Maples, elms and sun- 
diy other ornamental trees are liable to develop 
too exuberant, a flow of sap In the 3tock during 
what is usually considered the most favorable sea¬ 
son for budding. In such cases the eyes of the 
stock are said, In technical terms, to he drowned 
with sap. The remedy is delay until the stimu¬ 
lated pulse of the plant has subsided a little to a 
more moderate beat. 
Birches. —Buddtng In early August preferred. 
May be grafted successfully during the beginning 
of Spring. 
Horse-chestnuts.— Budding In July preferred, 
because their sap rises very early. May be graft¬ 
ed also In the beginning of Spring. 
CATAi.FA8.-May be grafted during April and 
budded In August. 
Uebohbs.— Budding so difficult as to be practi¬ 
cally out of the question. Asa tour deforce bud- 
dlng beeches Is possible, of course, hut. not worth 
striving for, since excellent plants are readily 
obtained by grafting In April. The cions used In 
thlB caso should consist of one-year-old attached 
to a portion of two-year-old wood. Instead of 
merely the one-year-old wood generally used. 
Thorns— May be budded in July or grafted in 
spring, like pears, to which they exhibit an affin¬ 
ity. 
Asues —it Is a curious ract that the European 
Ash (Fraxlnus excelalor) makes the best stock on 
which to grart all ashes, even American species 
and varieties. The explanation of this Is bard to 
give. When we remember tbat maples can be only 
grafted each on Its own type within very strict 
limitations. Such perplexing behavior of plants 
puzzles the grafter continually, and teaches 
him to be humble and not to dogmatize, be his 
experience ever so great. Ashes may be grarted 
and budded In April and August, like so many 
other trees. 
Magnolias.— Budding in August preferred. 
Oaks.— Grafting In April preferred. Buddtng 
very difficult and seldom attempted. Some varie¬ 
ties muse be grafted with ctons consisting of one- 
year-old attached to a portion of two-year-old 
wood, nice those used for beeches. 
southern Cypress.— May be grafted at the end 
of April or early in May. Seldom. If ever, budded. 
Elms, lludens, chestnuts, poplars, willows, 
locusts and sophoras may all he grafted and bud¬ 
ded In April and August. On account of the early 
flow of sap in the Spring. It Is wise to cut well- 
selected cions In Fall, after one or two sharp frosta 
have matured ihem, and bury them In a dark cellar 
for future use. Budding evergreens Is not to be 
thought of, and grafting evergreens out-of-doors 
can be done only with great difficulty and uncer¬ 
tainty, 
shrubs generally are grown readily from cut¬ 
tings ; but sometimes grafting is employed for the 
sake of making a stronger and more shapely plant. 
I may mention as prominent illustrations of the 
use of grafting, as applied to shrubs, certain 
varieties of the enonyuius, allbma. lilac, vibur¬ 
num, &c. in all these oases, the stock employed 
Is a readily obtaluea form of the same genus. Two 
genera of shrubs present notable Instances of the 
advantages of grafting In certain cases over 
other methods. Rhododendrons and Hardy 
Azaleas, when grafted, make more shapely plants 
and attain well developed foms sooner than by 
any other method of propagation; but to propa¬ 
gate them In this way is no easy task In the climate 
of America. 
In recommending budding and grafting for many 
trees and shrubs, I have not gtven the preference 
to either, and perhaps after three or four years, 
when the grafted plant Is established, It would bo 
hard to say which produced the most satisfactory 
results. The experienced propagator, however, 
recognizes that one produces quantify most read¬ 
ily and the other quality. Budding is done far 
more quickly and with lees effort, while grafting 
produces a vigorous growth the first year, better 
fitted in every way to bear the strain of the fal¬ 
lowing Winter than the comparatively weak early 
growth of the budded plant. It Is no llttte advant¬ 
age, moreover, In favor of grafting, that a well- 
established tree for transplanting may be thus 
obtained In half the time. For fruit trees, and 
certainly for easily budded plants, we Deed seek 
no better method of propagation than budding; 
hut for most ornamental trees, especially for those 
difficult to propagate under any circumstances, 
grafting Is greatly to be preferred. 8. P. 
The question often arises, why is It that so few 
of our farmer friends understand the theory and 
practice of propagating fruit trees by grafting V 
As a general thing there are not more than one or 
two persons In any given community who make a 
practice of setting cions, and they are In great 
demand whenever any grafting or budding 13 to 
be done. Tne writer well remembers the kind 
old gentleman who, many years ago, was accus¬ 
tomed to make hla annual visits at the farm, carry¬ 
ing in one hand a little basket, wherein were care¬ 
fully laid the cions to he set, tbe wax, knives, 
twine, etc., while In the other were the indispensa¬ 
ble saw, hatchet or chisel. Then we wondered 
wny he was the only one who understood grafting 
when the process seemed to be so simple, aud we 
wonder still that so few practice this useful art. 
We hope that the Instructions we are about to 
give—t hough tbe story is a threadbare one to many 
of our readers will encourage and enable many 
to “ try their hanu " at grafting. 
Given all the necessary materials and utensils, 
the object is to make a cleft or slit In the end or side 
of the stock, and In this to flt one end of the cion so 
neatly that the bark of the cion 
may correspond with that of the 
stock. When this ib properly \ 
done there need be no fear but 
that the sap of the old stock will 
rise Into the cion and produce 
growth. The tools needed for 
grafting are few and simple. A 
light saw, a small and a large f j 
chisel, or, hotter still, a com- ,-(■—f 
blned knife and chisel—as seen 
in Fig. 80 -a mallet and a small 
knife, will enable one to do the y 
mechanical work, while a supply F\ 
of hast, or any soft, strong ma- 1 ) 
terlal, and wax will HU out the J ( 
complement 
FIG. 84. 
lng cut will explain Itself. This style of grafting 
requires no bandage, If the wax Is carefully 
applied. Yet one may be used, as shown In tne 
figure. 
Side-grafting is considered by many as superior 
to every other style, yet hut. few praetlce It. 
Where a cion is to be set on the side of a branch 
or small tree, make a silt In the stock as shown at 
Fig. 85 , just as If a bud were to 
he Inserted. Raise the bark ( (] 
on each side bo as to admit J Y j 
the lower end of the cion, SI 
Crowd the cion into the silt as \ h 
if Inserting a bud, and be sure L / 
that the end of the cion fits '<) s\ / 
neatly. Bind the parts to- ^-71 ' I 
HARDY ORNAMENTAL TREES AND 
SHRUBS FOR NEW ENGLAND. 
mens from the nursery; those at least twice 
transplanted are best. This tree needs great 
care until well established when It rivals in sym¬ 
metry and beauty of foliage and flower any de¬ 
ciduous tree, and will withstand our climate suc¬ 
cessfully. 
The Yellow oak.— This Is another tree diffi¬ 
cult to transplant, but one of rare value and 
beauty, and when finely grown, It Is admirable for 
Its fine, glossy foliage, Its excellent proportions 
and Its handsome cluster of acorns. Withal. It 
makes a rapid growth and Is worthy of the 
highest praise. 
The White Oak and Pin Oak are also hand¬ 
some trees, each having its distinctive character 
aDd beauty. 
The Mafle Family Is deservedly popular and 
among Its members perhaps none surpasses the 
Sugar Maple, a tree of compact growth making a 
dense shade, and from the bursting of the vernal 
buds to the beautiful hues of October it Is a con¬ 
tinuous beauty. The Silver Maple Is a rapid grow¬ 
er, making a grateful shade. The Scarlet Maple 
lsbeautful in Spring, with its scarlet bloom, and 
in Autumn with its brilliant red. The Purple 
Maple is also a distinct and handsome variety 
well adapted for ornamental planting. The Nor¬ 
way Maple, with its strong growth and its dense 
foliage, la also popular. 
Ashes.—T he White Ash Is also a beautiful tree 
which has not been properly appreciated. The 
Black Ash is also desirable for moist land. 
The American White Elm for grandeur and 
majestic proportions Is surpassed probably by no 
forest tree. New Haven, Connecticut, “ The City 
of Elms,” furnishes a notable example of the 
beauty of this tree. There are, however, fine 
specimens of mature elms all through New Eng¬ 
land, which add wonderfully to the landscape, 
but the trees always need ample room from the 
outset to develop their grand proportions. This 
elm aud all the maples transplant safely and 
grow rapidly. 
The Am erican Dogwood is a tree of great merit 
' which has been, to a great extent, overlooked. 
When well grown it Is pretty In form and foliage, 
handsome In bloom in early Spring and surpass¬ 
ingly beautiful with Its brilliant, hues In Autumn. 
The Black, Yellow, and Canoe Birches are 
all fine in form and foliage, and for street or park 
planting should not he omitted. 
The Norway Spruce I consider by far the best 
tree for wind-breaks, as It Is of rapid growth, very 
hardy and very effective for that purpose. 
The H km lock I place In the first, rank for hedges, 
although the A merlcau and Siberian Arbor-vines 
are hardy and good, 
Evergreens for Law n-planting. Among the best 
trees for this purpose are the White, Scotch and 
Austrian Pines; the Norway, Hemlock, White. 
Eastern aud Conical Spruces; the Japanese Re- 
tlnlapora 3 piumo 3 a, aurea, squarrosa, plslfera and 
fllltera. These I find reasonably hardy and beau¬ 
tiful. 
Choice Deciduous Shrubs.— Rose and White Al¬ 
monds, alt.luea In variety; hardy azaleas ; Caly- 
canthus fiorldus; Cydonla Japooloa or Japan 
Quince; Deulzla crenata, fl. pi; Deutzla gracilis ; 
forsythla; Hydrangea panlculata grandlflora; 
Lilac, common, Cut-leaved and Persian; Spiraea 
prunlfolla and Reevesll; Wetgela rosea and varle- 
gata. 
Evergreen Shrubs.— Rhododendron roseum 
elegans, aud roseum superbum for colors and al¬ 
bum elegans and album grandlflora for white. 
For climbers the following are excellent:— 
Akebla qulnata, Arapelopsls qulnquefolla, A. 
Vletchti together with clematis, honeysuckles and 
wistarias, all In variety. 
All the above, properly arranged, win he found 
hardy and excellent. The Ust might be greatly 
extended. 
The seekel, Tyson, Beurre Superfln and 
Doyenne Boussoek Pears ; the Lombard, Quack- 
enboss and German Prune Plums; the Governor 
Wood, Blggarreau and Downer's Late Red Cher¬ 
ries may also be tolerated on the lawn as com¬ 
bining the useful with the beautiful. 
Middlesex Co., Conn. P. M. Augur. 
A good recipe for / \ 
making the wax la:—resin, three / \ 
parts, bees-wax three parts, and I J 
tallow two parts. Grattlng-wax 
tn cakes may, however, be pur- fio. 80 . 
ehased of any seedsman. There are several differ¬ 
ent methods of grafting, but we shall here notice 
only those most commonly practiced and most 
likely to prove successful. 
Cleft-grafting Is illustrated at Fig. Si. This 
method Is used generally on stocks of a diameter 
I of from one to three 
J f Jp" inches. First saw off the 
Va m 2k stock, b; shave the end 
^ j of It so that the point 
£ 1 X °f union between the 
iffl H bark and wood may be 
f. \ readll y seen. Drive the 
Al . -3 blade of the grafting 
knife, shown at Fig. 80 , 
1 II / Into the stock to spilt It 
1 fl I then remove the knife 
11/ F and Insert the wedge or 
Uf.lli chisel to keep the oleft 
ill open while the cions are 
j, being set. The ctons 
O should be previously 
\ made slightly wedge- 
I . j shaped at one end, as 
1 shown at a, to flt neatly 
Fia * 81 • Into the cleft, In order 
;o secure a close union. In case the stock closes 
American whip-tongue Ih if 
grafting,— This method, J 
which Is similar to tongue- 
grafting as showu in Fig. 83 , 
Is more generally practiced fig. 85. 
among nurserymen. The cion and stock being 
first cut as for splice-grafting, tne knife Is passed 
upward In tbe cion a, Fig. S6, and downward In 
r the stock b, forming a 
A- tongue which serves 
to hold the cion and 
1 stock more firrhly to- 
getner when united, 
, Vi & as at 0. To complete 
Vi 1 the work, wind a nar- 
/jN || row strip of waxed 
ill a lfl cloth around the graft 
vt u \\ | \ and stock, covering the 
\\ Vfj splice. 
iV/i / The proper season 
I I j C tor grafting fruit trees 
1 hjj / is In the Spring when 
N * * »' the sap begins to flow, 
J & which Is earliest in the 
(\ I [X cherry and plum, and 
a I r ' latest In the pear and 
I apple, straight, thrifty 
shoots of last year’s 
I / growth should be cut 
either very early In 
fig. sc. the Spring or In Win¬ 
ter, and these may bo kept In sand in the cellar 
until they are wanted ; then the cions may be se¬ 
lected from them. The clou, should have two or 
three buds upon It, tnough a cion with a single 
The stock should 
bud sometimes does justas well, 
be a tree which has stood on the spot where 
grafted for at least a year, as success Is not as sure 
to follow grafting on newly moved trees. 
Every member or the country home should un¬ 
derstand grafting. It Is very easy to raise almost 
any kind of fruit trees from seeds, to be used as 
stocks upon which to *• work" the best varieties 
Into cultivation. We commend the above plain 
Instructions to our young readers both male and 
female. WhUo me former may Improve the fruit 
trees of the farm, the latter muy busy themselves 
with grafting hardy ornamental shrubs, or Indeed 
lemons, oranges, geraniums, roses, abutllons and 
scores of others. It Is a delightful pastime and 
one which may lead V»y a very short route to a 
closer study of plant life and a wider, more Intel¬ 
ligent aud appreciative view 01 the blessings of 
farm life when rightly couducted. 
the Btock. if care is taken to L 
make the cuts true and the two H 
parts are properly fitted, growth 
will almost surely follow. After 
the cion Is bound to the stock A 
by bast, yarn or something of 
the kind, wax must be applied an, W"v 
so that no moisture can enter. <41 Vk 
Whip-tongue grafting is 11- T k\ \\ 
lustrated at Fig. 83 , where a, o, ' \\ \ 
represent a stock prepared for rk \\ \\ 
the cion o. At ct, they are united ; A \\ U 11 
at e me binding Is applied, and zrj \)j 
at /, the wax is shown. This J j [} 
method Is more difficult to carry A 
into effect than those previously / rf 
mentioned, as the joints must k \ 
be fitted more exactly, in a few / \ 
days after the cion has begun to fig. S2. 
grow draw a knife through the wax, cutting the 
ligature, otherwise growth will he obstructed. 
GRAFTING AND BUDDING ORNAMENTAL 
TREES. 
The operation of budding and grafting Is widely 
practiced wherever fruit and ornamental trees are 
valued, it is considered more or less 
difficult, according to the favoring con¬ 
ditions of soli, climate and peculiari¬ 
ties of any special tree. Many trees, 
particularly ordinary fruit trees, may 
be grarted with little difficulty, pro¬ 
vided the conditions relating to ma- 
sy turlty of wood and sap In both stock 
. and elon are considered. 
rn Wlrtl tlle dJfforent 80rt8 ° f ornamen- 
// f-’v/m tal trees the operation Is more difficult. 
( A suecessiul grafter requires xaoultles, 
JiA l] experience, aud. above all, devotion to 
\| his work, that few possess. To such 
men particularly the dissertations on 
the best style or grafting with which 
. 1 essays and books on plant propagation 
/Js teem, appear of very little importance 
'j as compared with the deeper import of 
me relative actions of the functions 
j and affinities of iho plants with which 
he proposes to deal. A true expert 
will invent peculiar methods of graft- 
s lng for himself and think nothing of It. 
