The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1884-09-26
Value of Knowing How to Graft.

Every farmers boy should learn to
graft. Few occupations give more
pleasure or a greater reward. To con-
vert q wild and thorny fruit into one
bearing large and delicious fruit is q
wonderful and fascinating process.
Grating need not be confined to fruit
trees. Ornamental trees and shrubs
which are nearly related to each other
may be grated. Several kinds of roses
may be grown on the same bush, and
differently colored lilacs may be mixed
on the same stalk. Grating is an easy
art to acquire. Simply making the
cions live is but part OF the operation
on fruit trees, however. One must plan
for the future top of the tree. He must
graft such limbs as should make per-
manent factors in the top he is build
ing; and while he should avoid grating
too many limbs, he should likewise
avoid grating too few. In either ex-
treme too much cult ng for the good of
the tree will have to be done. If too
few limbs are grated it will be neces-
safy to cut too many branches off en-
tirely during the process of grating.
If too many limbs are grated it will be
necessary to cut many of them out in a
few years to prevent crowding It
must be remembered that II grated
branch will occupy more room than
natural branch, for the cions branch
and bush out from the points Of their
insertion. How many limbs and which
ones to graft must be learned by ex-
perience and Judgment. M 10
The kind of grating most likely to
be practised on the farms is that known
as cleft grating. The process is a
simple one. Saw off limb to be
grated where it is an inch or less in
diamet r, trim the edges of the ''stub''
smooth, and split it with large knife
or cleaver made for the purpose. The
cleft should not be more than four
inches deep at the most A wedge is
now inserted in the center of the cleft,
and p cion is set on each side of the
stub. tThe cions are made of twigs of
last years growth. They should be
cut before the trees show any signs of
starting in the spring. When the cion
is prepared ready for setting it should
contain about three buds. The lower
end is cut wedge shaped by slicing off
each side of the cion. On one side of
this wedge-shaped portion, and mid
way between it's top and bottom,
should be left one of the buds.
When the cion is set the bud will be
deep down iu the side of the cleft in tho
stub and will be covered with wax, but,
being nearer the source of nourishment,
will be the most apt of any buds to
grow, and it will readily push through
the wax. The cion is set into the cleft
by exercising great care that the inner
surface of the bark on the cion exactly
matches the inner surface of the bark
on the stub. A line between the bark
and the wood may be observed. This
line on the cion, in other words, should
match this line on the stub. Wax the
whole over carefully and thoroughly.
Do not leave any crack exposed. Wax
which is pretty hard and which must be
worked and applied with the hands is
commonly best. We have given sever
ri good recipes for grating wax. We
would recommend that grating be not
confined 20 the orchard. Experiment.:
Try pears or apples on wild crabs and
thorns. One must not look for success
on trees much different from the cions,
but there is room, for experimenting and
more light is needed. -Anaeri lean CHI
ti9,nfo3-