. The nursery-book : a complete guide to the multiplication of plants . Plant propagation. 126 GRAFTAGE. gangs,âone to do the cutting of the stubs, one to set the cions, and one to apply the wax. The cions are all whit- tled Ijefore the grafter enters the tree. They are then usu- ally moistened by dipping into a pail of water, and are carried in a high side-pocket in the jacl^et. The handiest mallet is a simple club or billy, a foot and half long, hung over the wrist by a loose soft cord (Fig. 130). This is brought into the palm of the hand by a swinging motion of the forearm. This mallet is a
. The nursery-book : a complete guide to the multiplication of plants . Plant propagation. 126 GRAFTAGE. gangs,âone to do the cutting of the stubs, one to set the cions, and one to apply the wax. The cions are all whit- tled Ijefore the grafter enters the tree. They are then usu- ally moistened by dipping into a pail of water, and are carried in a high side-pocket in the jacl^et. The handiest mallet is a simple club or billy, a foot and half long, hung over the wrist by a loose soft cord (Fig. 130). This is brought into the palm of the hand by a swinging motion of the forearm. This mallet is always in place, never drops from the tree, and is not in the way. The knife shown in Fig. 120 is com- â monly used. A downward stroke of the mallet drives the knife into the tree, and the return upward motion strikes the knife on the outer end and removes it. Another downward motion drives in the wedge. The sharpened nails and sticks commonly pictured as wedges in cleft-grafting are useless for any serious work. The common style of grafting-knife sold by seedsmen, comprising a thin, broad blade set in a hea\-y back-piece, is also of little use. The blade is too thin to split the stub. The various combined implements which have been devised to facilitate cleft- grafting are usually impracticable in commercial grafting. It is very important that the cleft-graft should be kept constantly sealed up until all tlie wounded surfaces are com- pletely covered witli the healing tissue. Old wood never heals. Its power of growth is completed. If a limb of an apple tree a half inch or more in diameter is cut off, the heart or core of the wound will be found to be incapaljle of healing itself It is covered over by the callus tissue which rolls in from the cambium underneath the bark. The wound becomes hermetically sealed by the new tissue. In the meantime, the wound should be kept antiseptic by some dressing, like wa.\ or paint, to prevent decay. In cleft-. 130. Grafting- mallet (Xl-io)..
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