La sentinelle de Thibodaux. [volume] (Thibodaux, La.) 1861-1866, 1866-03-17
The Orchard.

the swine: others are grated TO poor va
~rieties, or are shy bearers. or the variet,
may be good generally, bnt may fnt sue
coed ON some soil or localities. Thus. FL
various reasons. nearly every orchar,
contains some trees that bring but LITTLE
good fruit to the farmer, and he feel!
hat, unless som" improvement canbe made
they may us wellbe cut down aiid. Ion
ger eumber the ground.
Now. fla tree is healthy and thrifty, i
would be unwise to destroy it, for it ha. /;
foundation of roots and n structure %
trunk and branches, that il would require
many years for n young tree transplanted
from the nursery to attain to. If we Can
lonly substitute for that inferior. nearly
worthless frnit. fne. excellent. %praduciite
fruit. twill be far Better than to destroy
the tree. The science If grating affords
the means Of changing tlslt fruit within a
few years.
TIA hearing tree produces tplerable fair
looking. salealEe fruit, although not Of
the first Class, lit would lie irnpolitic to
graft it OYER, for it would reqnise several
yenrs before the CRAFTS wonld bring in so
large an income as the old kind, and there
IS some risk 70 RIM in grafting over M old
tree. The CRAFTS may fail, or the tree it
self may dieil consequence Of cutting out
so much of The top.
IL Is I" afford some suggestions how to
avoid failure in grating that this article
is written.
THE TINE FOR GRAFTISG.-T prefer
grating apple trees as early in April As
thu u.n will Wv acIr f.aoj, Il IL Al .---] =,
properly done, no subsequent freezing will
lnjure the gratis. / once.grattrd an or
orchard in the early part of April. and
about the middle of the month the ground
froze up quite solid, but the CRAFTS sue
remarkably well.
GRATING .WAs-A very good wax
for grating may be made Will, 2 lbs. of
beesYnx, and ] lb. nftaliow. They should
be melted together, poured into a tub Of
cold water, and worked with the hands
until soft and rliahle. and rs light cnlored
possible, as dark -cnlored wax is liable to
in the summers snn and run off.
Somer recommend using linseed oil in the
,lace of tallnw. but l think it makes too
lark coforcd a wax.
GRAFTlNG.-The first operation IN
is to saw offth limbs to be graft
a., md this is a very important part of the
'peration. 1t is desirable to have the
top rs low as possible. and many arc
to saw off large limbs as near the
rnnk ms ri acticalle, in order to secure
his end !; but it is very liable to result in
he failure OF the CRAFTS and the speedy
cath Of the tree. Tie end Of tile limbs
ill die FIRST. nadecay will saon extend
own TO the roots. Nerer sap IF d hm6 o
.ore thai ao aaches in diameter, nna b ten
THAT stSs. The safest way. and tie one
t certain of success. is to n'Iow the
lrger limbs to remain and graft their la
.ral hrancses. Thus, without .elevating
10 top much above the original one, yox
raft only sma limbs. A fine. sharp saw
ionid he nsed, 50 rs to mike a smooth
and d., the work neatly. Care should /
: used tn hold the limb with one hand
lille saving it off with the ether. other i
Use it may peel down on the under side. /
me three or four inches of the stump of }
lch limb should be left to graft. 1t is n
plan to grift Only a part Of a tree g
G first year,. selecting the NEST Thrifty b
nbs, and taking Two or three years to
ml,lete the tree. y
Cutting AND PREPARING THE Sc1oss - i
le scions should he Gu from the outside a
Of a tree Of the past years growth.
t February or March is considered lie y
time tied up in bundles. Carefully b
,eled. and laid AWAY in the cellar IL
gLtly moistened sand. An, cxperfwi!I
t the gratis ut the time of grating, with =
but it is more certain 10 cut them
FIRE. 5s8t
! wo buds should be left on every graft,
! using q sharp knife, cut it to a wedge
IRE, ieaYiiig the side the lower bud Is hi
a little thicker tiinn the opposite one, 3
fiat tie bark IF the stock viii be GER ae
to press the bark Of the graft. .,
SETTING THE GRaFas.-With n.graft- ii
chisel, or an ordinary one. split the WI
ok down about two inches. drive in a ca
Ill wedge Of wood or iron. Is keep the d.
# opcnuntil the. scion or scions are in WI
ted set the scinns 50 that the lower re-
will be just inside the cleft. and the ~,
k Of the, stock and the scion join at Il,
ne point. as at this junction the sap
from the stock into the graft. and Pa
hdraw the wedge. Where the stock is c9H
n one and a half to two inches III diam biz
it is well to insert two scions, and Ion
'a~e both grow the weakest should he rai
ken off threeo or four mnnths afterward. %.
!, wax should immediately sp,rad on. ,a'
IS to cover the end Of the stt ok and it, wa
T., thereby excluding air and wafer. 81
cad it on pretty thick. for it il poor chs
nthny 10 Ne too saving Of the wax. VI Dis
u aud other materials are very high. Ar
) necessary to grease the fingers to pie
the wax adhering to them. ena
TREATMENT.--As soon as growth on
mences in the grated tree, the sap nat
formerly flowed through the sever Co.
will seek new channels, and nu- the
suckers will start III the vicinity son
re gratis. These should be carefully sagi
off once n month. In case the uFs
in any If tle limbs fail, one or two s nm
uts should be allowed ia. grow, to be niiy
when Of sufficient size. mi
I'd Old tree thus grated over will come virt
beari e several years before II Young Ord
fransplantetl at the same tine. and sea-