October 1, 1908 
Orchard. 
<a 
The 
Fruit frees. 
GRAFTING PROCESS OUTLINED. 
The subject of grafting fruit trees is 
one that is old, yet ever new, with the 
return of spring and the season for plant 
growth. Grafting is the process of insert- 
ting a piece of plant, usually a bud or 
twig, in another, so that it will grow. It 
is a necessary practice with nearly all 
orchard fruits. The plant on which the 
grafting is done is termed the stock. The 
part inserted into the stock is called 
thescion. The essential principle in graft- 
jng is to bring the cambium layer 
(growing tissue between the bark and 
wood) of the scion end stock in close 
contact with each other, and to keep 
them there until they grow together. 
There are various methods of grafting | 
but those mostly followed may be classified 
as (1) budding and (2) seion grafting. 
Tur Process or Buppina, 
Budding consists in inserting a single 
bud under the bark of the stock. It is 
practically more especially with small 
stocks only one or two years old. Bud- 
ding is usually performed when the bark 
onthe stock is loose and will peel. It 
may also be done in the spring. One- 
year-old nursery trees are budded two to 
three inches above the ground If 
budded in the spring the buds are taken 
from twigs of the previous season’s 
growth. If full budded, from the grow- 
ing twigs of the season. A T-like cut is 
made through the bark of the stock; the 
bark is then slightly lifted near the top 
/ 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
of the cut, then a little piece of bark 
containing the bud is inserted and 
pressed down, so that it is held firmly in 
place.i,, The bud is then held firmly in its 
place with raffiia, a cheap commercial 
tying material, or some soft yarn. No 
wax or other covering wmaterialis used. 
Scion GRAFTING. 
There are a number of ways fof uniting 
scion and stock, but the more common 
are the cleft graft and the wedge or 
tongue graft. Cleft eraftlng is practised 
with rather large branches, and is done 
early in the spring. The scions are taken 
from the shoots of the previous year's 
growth, and generally eonsist of three 
buds. These may be prepared some time 
previously, tied in bundles, and labelled 
and kept stored in some cool place to 
keep them perfectly dormant. The scion 
should be cut wedge-shaped, a little 
thicker on the outside, so that the 
pressure of the cleft will hold the cam- 
brium layers of stock and scion in close 
contact. Two scions are usully set in 
each stock, with the lower bud of the 
scion near the top of the wedge, 
This is commonly employed in graft- 
ing seedling apple roots with improved 
varieties, and with other small stocks. 
The scion and stock in whip grafting 
should be approximately the same size. 
in root whip grafting the parts are held 
firmly in place by a few wraps of cotton 
yarn drawn through melted wax and 
wound up on a spool. In root grafting 
with apples thirty-one-year old is taken 
up in the fall and stored in a cellar 
where it will keep moist. Some time 
during the winter months these roots 
may be cut in two or three pieces, and 
each piece grafted with a scion. These 
root grafts are then tied in bundles and 
packed in moist earth until spring, 
when they are set in nursery row. 
Grafting wax is made by thelting’ to- 
gether beeswax, tallow,and resin. A 
good formula for outdoor use “is one 
pound of tallow, two pounds of beeswax , 
and four pounds of resin. The melted 
mixture should be poured into a pail of 
water and pulled with greased hands 
until it becomes light colored and grains. 
17 
It may then be put away in oiled paper 
and will keep indefinitely, The warmth 
of the hands will be sufficient to soften it - 
for usein the orchard. The hands must 
be greased to prevent it from sticking to 
them. The wounds should be covered 
airtight with the wax, 
Whip or tongue grafting is, on the 
whole, the best and easiest mode of 
grafting, and the one most extensively 
employed for young trees in this country. 
It is represented at figure A, where 1 is 
the stock and 2 the scion. It willbe 
readily understood that the bark of the 
stock, because older, is thicker than that 
of the scion, consequently if, as ought to 
be the case, equal surfaces of the wood are 
exposed, the cut surface of the scion 
would not completely cover that of the 
stock, nor would this ever be the case, 
except when the barks of both stock and 
scion are of equal thickness, In proceed- 
ing to operate, cut the top of the stock in 
a sloping direction, as shown in the 
figure. terminating, if possible, above 
abud, Then take the scion and cut it 
sloping and thin towards the end; next 
enter the knife and cut a thin tongue 
upwards, as shown inthe figure. The 
scion is now prepared. Then proceeding 
to the stock, cut a slice upwards, so that 
the surface of the wood shall be as nearly 
as possible a counterpart of the exposed 
wood of the scion. In the upper part of 
the cut make a notch to receive the 
tongue of the scion; this notch should be 
kept open with the point of the knife 
while the scion is. being inserted. The 
inner bark of the scion and stock — 
should be placed in contact, the parts 
secured by tying with matting or other 
