Vol. LIX. No. 2614. 
NEW YORK, MARCH 3, 1900. 
SI PER YEAR. 
PRIMER SCIENCE IN HORTICULTURE. 
THE A B C OF GRAFTING. 
The Whole Thing Simply Told. 
THE ART OF GRAFTAGE.—The science of graft- 
age is generally thought to be quite mysterious, and 
the art a very difficult thing to perform. Doubtless 
this is true with many persons, both old and young, 
hut it need not be so. Therefore, let us endeavor 
first to understand the principles which underlie the 
science of graftage, then we may the better know 
how to do the work. 
HOW THE UNION IS MADE—Just between the 
bark and wood there is a soft greenish-white layer 
called cambium. It is composed of the most tender 
and also the most active cells 
within the tree. They con¬ 
tain a large part of its vital 
fluid. In the Winter they are 
quite dormant, but in the 
growing season they are very 
active. This fluid, or the true 
sap of the tree, is passed from 
cell to cell through their won¬ 
derfully thin and delicate 
walls; which are like the 
finest of silk tissue or trans¬ 
lucent film. In the Spring, 
when the cells are started 
into activity, after their Win¬ 
ter’s rest, they begin to in¬ 
crease in numbers, and do so 
more and more rapidly as the 
Summer comes on. They di¬ 
vide and subdivide, making 
millions more within a very 
short time. At the height of 
the growing season they form 
a mass which is soft and 
shiny, much like thick paste. 
This gradually changes into 
woody tissue, all mixed be¬ 
tween and through the cells, 
obliterating most of them, 
until a new layer of wood is 
formed, and also a new layer 
of bark. This is what we call 
wood growth. In the Spring 
we take advantage of this 
growth of both cells and 
woody fiber to do our graft¬ 
ing. We bring together parts 
of two living branches, hav¬ 
ing first laid bare a part of 
the cambium layer of each; 
and cause them to grow to¬ 
gether. Were it not for the 
fact that these layers of ten¬ 
der, vital cells, in both stock 
and scion, are brought into 
close contact, and kept so, grafting would be impos¬ 
sible. Life must touch life, else the two cannot grow 
together. Besides, there must be natural congeniality, 
or they will not unite, except it be very imperfectly. 
Doing this is the art of grafting. 
NATURE AS A GRAFTER.—Nature was herself 
the first grafter, although the art was understood and 
performed by the Jews, Romans and other ancient 
races more than 2,000 years ago. There are, now and 
then, cases of natural grafting found among our wild 
forest trees. I once saw an oak tree about 30 feet 
high, in Texas, which was Blackjack for about the 
first 10 feet, while the remaining part was of Post 
oak. How did this come to be so? The reason is 
simple enough. When two trees of the different 
species were young and growing near each other, the 
Post oak had by some natural means been forced 
against the Blackjack, and firmly held there until the 
bark came off, their cambium layers met and had 
grown together. This is all we can do in any kind of 
grafting. There are fully 50 styles by which it may 
be done, but in all of them the principle is the same. 
THE TOOLS NEEDED.—Before explaining any of 
the methods of grafting, it will be well to know what 
materials and tools are needed. A small, sharp, fine¬ 
toothed saw, for cutting off large branches; a short, 
stout knife for cutting off the smaller ones, and pry¬ 
ing open the split stocks in which to set tne scions; 
a short, heavy club to use as a mallet in doing the 
splitting; a thin-bladed but very sharp knife to trim 
the scions into shape for setting; some strings or 
waxed cloth for binding small stocks; a good supply 
of grafting Wu.x, ana a little lump of tallow to grease 
the fingers with while applying the wax. All these 
are easily obtained if not already on hand. 
Grafting wax may be made in several ways, but the 
kind I like oest is prepared as follows; Prepare one 
part of tallow, one of beeswax, and five of resin; the 
same weight of linseed oil may oe used instead of tne 
tallow, but do not use lard or other soft grease. Put 
the three in an iron vessel and slowly melt them. 
After stirring the mass pour it in the center of a tuo 
or other large vessel of water, to cool it in a lump. As 
soon as it can be handled, pull it like taffy and make 
it into balls about the size of the fist. Wrap each in 
a greased paper, and it is ready to use or to keep for 
a long time in any ordinary temperature. Waxed 
cloth is made in the following manner: Cut a a few 
sticks the size and length oi a pencil. Tear strips of 
old, tender muslin an inch narrower than the sticks 
are long. Roll them one over the other on these 
sticks, until each roll is the size of one’s arm, Make 
as many as may be needed, and put them in a pot of 
melted grafting wax while it is yet on the fire. When 
they are thoroughly soaked, fork one out at a time, 
and at once unroll them, by having one person take 
hold of the two projecting ends of a stick, while an¬ 
other pulls off the strips of cloth and spreads them 
on bushes to cool. These may be torn into narrower 
strips as needed, and used instead of wax to cover the 
wounds made in grafting. 
THE SCiONS.—Good grafts can only be made 
from healthy scions. The in¬ 
side of the bark and wood 
must have the natural green¬ 
ish-white color. If they are 
dark in the pith or bark they 
have been injured. The buds 
should be large and promi¬ 
nent. Such scions are usually 
found at the tips of the thrift¬ 
iest branches of a tree. If we 
cut them off and graft them 
into other trees we may ex¬ 
pect just such fruit as grew 
on the tree from which they 
were taken. After they are 
cut they must be kept moist 
and cool until they are used. 
Label each bundle, wrap sep¬ 
arately in a cloth to keep 
them clean, and bury in the 
earth in a shady place, or in 
a box of damp sawdust in a 
cool cellar. If the buds are 
not started when the grafting 
is being done the scions may 
be cut from the tree and used 
at once. 
THE TIME TO DO THE 
WORK.—The time to graft 
oegins as soon as freezing 
weather is over, which is not 
far from April 1 in most 
parts of this country, and 
ends when the leaves are half 
grown on the trees to be 
grafted. It depends upon 
what kind of trees are to be 
grafted as to the best time to 
do the work. Plum and 
cherry should come first, be¬ 
cause they succeed much bet¬ 
ter if grafted early than late. 
Grape vines must also be 
grafted very early. Apple 
and pear trees seem to do 
equally well either early or late, provided the work is 
skilfully done. All kinds of nut trees must be grafted 
very late, in order to succeed well, according to my 
experience, although some have claimed that they 
have had just as good success with them early as 
late. The same is true of the persimmon and all 
other difficult things to graft that I have tried. 
HOW TO DO THE WORK.—Among the many 
styles of grafting that I have practiced the one which 
I like best for ordinary work (all but very small 
trees), is the single split or cleft method. By this, the 
stock is cut off with a slope like that shown at a in 
Fig. 43, or a little steeper will be equally as good, or 
better. The commoner way is to cut square across 
the stock; but I have tound by many trials that a 
sloping stump will heal more quickly and with a 
BOUGAINVILLEA SANDERIANA. See Ruralisms, Page 148. Fig. 42. 
