88 
March, 
THE CULTIVATOR 
Budding and Autumn Grafting. 
I wish to make a few inquiries in regard to the pro¬ 
pagation of the Peach and Apple. I do not find any¬ 
thing in relation to fall grafting the apple. In bud¬ 
ding the peach, you recommend leaving the wood in 
the bud. I have lately commenced ■ a nursery; not 
more than one-half my apple trees took. A person 
from the state of New-Jersey said fall grafting was 
best for the apple, and grafted about 4,000. Please 
say what your experience is in this matter, as I may 
have been imposed upon. 
In regard to the peach, I had about 6,000 budded 
in the early part of September, all the wood taken 
out; upon examination, I think I am safe in saying 
there are not five to the hundred missing. If, how¬ 
ever, the. wood can be left in with as good success, the 
operation can be performed much more speedily. I 
should like to know your experience in this. James 
Delaplaine. Centreville , Delaware, Jan., 1854. 
We have never tried out-door or stock grafting in 
autumn, but have been informed by those who have, 
that the long period elapsing after the operation and 
before the commencement of growth, in connexion with 
the frequent freezing and thawing which the plaee of 
union has to undergo, operate unfavorably, and that it 
has not been attended with much success. It is com¬ 
mon to commence root-grafting in cellars in the depth 
of winter, and some months before setting the roots 
out; and being packed in a uniformly cool place, they 
suffer little or no detriment by the delay. If any of 
our readers have had experience giving different re¬ 
sults, they would confer a favor by communicating the 
information. 
With regard to the removal of the wood from the 
bud,—when performed early in the season, as for ex¬ 
ample in budding the cherry, we find it quite necessa¬ 
ry to leave in a considerable portion of wood, to pre¬ 
vent the bud drying out. Later in the season, this is 
not so essential; if the stocks are thrifty and peel free¬ 
ly, there need not be a single failure in a thousand, 
even if the wood is left in. Some skillful nurserymen 
who bud Angers quince with the pear late in summer, 
are in the practice of removing the wood, which may 
perhaps induce the bud to lie more closely to the wood; 
others never remove the wood, but shave the bud off 
carefully and evenly, and scarcely ever meet with a 
failure. We never remove the wood from the peach, 
and on good stocks do not fail with one in a hundred. 
Strawberry Destroyed by Grubs. 
thing of this sort in connexion with strawberry cul¬ 
ture. If the grubs are few, doubtless they might be 
easily dug out and destroyed when their presence is 
first detected. We have sometimes found it an easy 
way, when other crops have been attacked by grubs, 
to offer boys a certain sum per dozen for all they could 
find. —■*$>— 
Time for Grafting the Apple. 
Mr. Tucker —Please inform me through the Culti¬ 
vator the proper time for grafting the apple. W. S. 
Canada West. 
The best time is the spring when the buds are be¬ 
ginning to swell, the scions for grafting having been 
cut a few weeks previously, and kept in a moist cool 
place, or in a box of damp moss in a cool cellar, so as 
to be neither shrivelled or water-soaked. Grafts may 
be cut and inserted the same day, if the buds have not 
swollen much. Grafts are sometimes set much later, 
but starting so late, they do not make so good a growth 
during the summer. 
Place for Grape Borders, &c. 
Intending to erect a grapery in the spring, I wish to 
propose a few questions, namely :— 
1. Should the root of the grapevine be placed out¬ 
side of the grapery and the vine allowed to pass through 
an aperture in the side of the building, and thus be ex¬ 
posed to the action of the frost upon one side and arti¬ 
ficial heat upon the other ? (a) 
2. Should the roots, in like manner with the vine, be 
permitted to seek a place within and without of doors ? 
If not, which should be prefered ; i. e., ought the roots 
be wholly confined within the limits of the grapery or 
entirely excluded ? (6) 
3. Would it be necessary to take the vines down and 
cover them during the winter, either in a cold or hot 
house? (c) 
4. Can you tell me where the black or Florida Fig 
can be obtained? Also I would like a little history of 
the “ twice bearing kinds.” If there is a place in the 
world where I can obtain some Fig trees, which will 
hold true to the name under which they are sent, I shall 
feel thankful, for you know the nurserymen are very 
naughty about such things. 
The grapes are all to be foreign varieties. ( d ) 
An answer given in the Country Gentleman, by some 
one who has had practical experience, will be very 
thankfully received and long remembered by A Sub¬ 
scriber. Utica, N. Y. 
(a, h ) Borders for grapevines are sometimes wholly 
without, and sometimes paftly.without and partly with¬ 
in. A principal advantage of placing them without is, 
One question I will take the liberty to ask you re¬ 
specting strawberry culture. Last April I prepared a 
patch of ground according to directions given in the 
Cultivator, and set my plants; they grew finely until 
the last of June, when they began to show signs of de¬ 
cay. I supposed it might be the drouth, which, by the 
way, was very severe in this section of country the 
past summer. I procured a quantity of spent tan- 
bark and mulched them two inches deep, but they did 
not improve; and to satisfy myself of the cause, I 
dug into the hills and found one or more large white 
worms with a brown head, commonly known among 
the farmers as the dung worm. They had eaten the 
roots of the plants. Willis P. Sargent. West 
Ameshury, Mass., Jan., 1854. 
The want of a description prevents us from identify¬ 
ing the gi’ub alluded to. We have not met with any 
the rains falling upon them obviate the necessity of 
supplying them wholly with artificial watering, which 
is quiie a formidable task in a large grapery, with ten 
thousand broad leaves constantly brea thing off moisture. 
When the vines are planted outside, the stems enter 
the house at the surface of the ground and close to the 
wall, and are scarcely exposed to the frost. The roots 
being mostly 2 or three feet below the surface in the 
deep artificial border, are not injured by cold. Even 
a very few inches of earth will prevent injury to exotic 
grapes, whether vines or roots. 
(c) The vines are taken down late in autumn, pruned, 
laid on the ground, and covered with leaves or ever¬ 
green boughs, for winter. This rule applies to all 
