Tumbledown Farm .9 Acres (give or take an acre or two)

Excerpt: The purposes of grafting are to propagate good varieties which will not come true from seed; to change the shapes of trees, and to change an undesirable variety to a desirable one. Sometimes trees which are not of the same species will not unite by grafting. The only rule to follow is to try the graft desired and see if it will succeed.

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303 THE GARDEN AND THE ORCHARD

GRAFTING

The purposes of grafting are to propagate good varieties which will not come true from seed; to change the shapes of trees, and to change an undesirable variety to a desirable one. Sometimes trees which are not of the same species will not unite by grafting. The only rule to follow is to try the graft desired and see if it will succeed.

Different forms of grafts are illustrated in. Fig. 8. Splice grafting (A) is not a very good method. Tongue and cleft grafting (B and C) succeed better. Bridge grafting (D) is a form used to save the life of a tree girdled by rabbits or rodents.

Fig. S.-Different forms of grafting: a, Splice grafting; b, Tongue grafting; c, Cleft grafting; d, Bridge grafting.

In grafting, the branch or part which is grafted onto the stock is termed the "scion." In order to be clean, the cuts for all grafts must be made with a grafting chisel or saw. In joining the scion with the stock, care must be exercised to have the cambium layers meet. This living tissue lies between the wood and the bark. If these tissues are not held firmly together, the graft will not grow. The scions must be cut the proper shape and length to fit the places provided. In bridge grafting, they must be long enough that when they are forced into place they will be bent outward as indicated in the illustration. After the scion is in place, the graft is tied up with heavy tape or cord string and the entire wound is covered with grafting wax.

Home-made Grafting Wax--Good grafting wax can be made by melting 4 parts of resin, 2 parts of beeswax and 1 part of tallow in a kettle over a stove. The mixture should not be allowed to boil. After hardening, the wax is pulled to a grain like taffy. It will keep for years if kept in a closed fruit jar.