4, on 2d cut of root, not so good as the third.
No. 5, on average lot, not waxed, as good as any.
No. 6, roots worked upside-down, mostly failed.
D.O. Reeder exhibited some 2-year old apple trees, worked on the root inverted, they were of very good growth.
For root grafting, thrifty stocks are wanted of one or two years' growth, the smoother and straighter the roots, the better. These should be taken up from the seed-bed in the fall, selected, tied in bundles, and stored in the cellar or cave, or buried in the soil where they shall be accessible at any time, and where they will be kept fresh and plump. The roots and scions having been prepared and under shelter, the work of grafting may proceed at any time during the winter. The stocks, if not clean, should be washed, and one hand trims off the side rootlets. The grafter cuts a hundred scions of the appropriate length, which he puts into a shallow box on the table; he takes up a stock, cuts the slope near the collar, and a dextrous hand will at the same time make the sloping cut to receive the first graft and also the tongue, if that style of grafting is to be done, as is usually practised. He then picks up a scion, from a lot which himself or another hand has already prepared with a slope and tongue, and adapts it to the root, the tongue keeping the two together; a portion of the root is then cut off with the graft, and the process is repeated upon the next section. Two or three or more grafts, are thus made from one seedling root; the length of the sections vary from two to four inches, according to the fancy of the operator, or of his employer. Some persons recommend a long scion with a short root, and others prefer to reverse those terms. The whole root graft should not be more than six or seven inches long.
When any given number of scions are fitted to the roots, a boy completes the process of grafting, by applying melted wax with a brush, in which case they are dropped into water to harden the wax, or they are wrapped with waxed strips of muslin or paper, or, better still, they are tied with waxed thread. No. 3 cotton yarn is drawn through a pan of melted wax, and wound upon a reel placed at the other side of the room, so that the wax may harden. This waxed thread is a very convenient tie; the graft being held in the left hand, the thread is wound about it two or three turns; as the wax causes the bandage to adhere to itself where it crosses, no knot is needed, and the thread is broken off with a quick jerk.
In splice grafting, whether performed with any of the machines, or if the slopes of root and scion be cut with the thin grafting knife, the tying must be done by the same hand that selects and places the scion upon the root. This does not admit of the same division of labor, and the fingers, becoming sticky from the wax, cannot be so nimble, and are unfit for cutting. When the lot is tied, they are set into the box, which should be inclined at an angle, and interspersed with earth or saw-dust; for transportation. Saw-dust, just as it comes from the mill, neither wet nor dry, is preferred by some as a packing material, and it has been found very efficacious, excluding and admitting the air just in the right proportions to prevent desiccation, and to promote the union, which very soon takes place between the graft and the root, if the boxes be stored in the cellar. In an ice-house root grafts have been kept in saw-dust more than a year, and then planted and grown successfully. The boxes should be deep enough to receive the whole graft—say from 10 to 12 inches—and then they can be packed upon one another without injuring the scions; these should be distinctly marked with the name and number, so as to be ready for planting out in the spring.
Much discussion has been had upon the merits and demerits, or disadvantages of root grafting, and much theoretical argument has been brought against the practice; but beautiful trees are thus made in immense numbers in the extensive nurseries of our country, and until better arguments can be produced against the practice, nurserymen will continue to graft on sections of root, such varieties, as are suitable for this procedure—especially apples, in a large proportion of the varieties cultivated, some pears, some peaches, grapes, and other fruits.
Root grafting is now of almost universal application with the apple. It has many advantages, which may be summed up as follows: Two or more plants may be produced from the root of one stock; these may be made with great rapidity; the work may all be performed in-doors and during the whole winter season, when nothing can be done outside; they are of small bulk, and great numbers may be stowed away in little space, they may be transported to any distance in this condition, and are ready for planting with the opening of spring, when they may be set in the nursery rows at once; or, they may be bedded out in a small space and mulched, to protect them from drouth, and the weeds can easily be kept under. Another advantage of bedding out the root-grafts is, that they may be assorted according to their size the next season, when transplanted into the nursery rows. This very transplanting too is a great advantage, for the roots will be much improved by the process.
The theoretical objections to root grafts have yielded to sound philosophy, based on and supported by practical observation. The very many advantages of this more economical and convenient and agreeable process, will necessarily sustain root-grafting in this fast age, when so many millions of trees are needed for the rapidly extending wants of this nation of tree planters. We may, however, consider some of the practical objections which have been brought forward against this plan of multiplying the apple. In our very changeable climate, and particularly in the North-west, upon the prairies, the cold of winter often supervenes with great suddenness, after the young trees have made a prolonged and vigorous growth in the fertile soil, and produces terrible devastation among those that are there exposed, without protection of any kind, to the rude blasts of the storm-king: in a less degree, injury is very frequent with many such late-growing kinds, at the first access of a severe frost; this is manifested in the bursting of the bark near the base of the stem. The same thing is not so often seen in the same varieties, when they have been budded or stock grafted a foot or more from the ground upon hardy seedling stocks, hence judicious propagators have selected the "tender" varieties for this kind of working, and confine their root-grafting to those less liable to the injury. There are other varieties which do not readily and promptly form a strong upright growth, so as to be profitable trees to the nurseryman if root grafted; these are selected for stock working, either on strong seedlings, or upon hardy upright sorts that have been root grafted for the purpose of being thus double-worked. This plan has been pursued to a limited extent only, but its advantages in the production of good trees of the slender growing varieties, begin to be appreciated, and as the demand increases, our intelligent nurserymen will very soon furnish the requisite supply.
Planting.—When the weather is fine, and the soil in good condition, the root-grafts are to be set out with a dibble, by the line; they should be planted rather deeply, one bud projecting above the surface of the ground. The culture must be thorough, the plants should be kept perfectly clean, but it is questionable whether the growth should be pushed, late in the season; indeed, it is preferable to check the vegetation at mid-summer. For this purpose it has been recommended to cease cultivating the soil, or even to sow the ground with a heavy seeding of oats, so as to check the growth before winter. In good soils, with good culture, the average hight in the rows will be two feet, but there is a great difference in the kinds; some will considerably exceed this hight. Intelligent nurserymen no longer endeavor to have an excessive growth in the first year, and many prefer the bedding plan above alluded to.
Trimming, Pinching, or Heading.—The growth during the first year is generally a single shoot, sometimes two. If there be a second, it should be subordinated by pinching off its extremity, never by trimming it off; indeed, laterals should always be encouraged, and this will be more and more the case, since the demand for low-headed trees is increasing, as the laws of physiology are better understood. A young tree, well furnished with laterals, is always more stocky, and every way better, though not so tall as that which has been drawn up to a single stem. To encourage this condition, some advise the pinching out the terminal bud in the midst of the growing season, which will cause the swelling and subsequent breaking of the lower buds, so as to furnish plenty of laterals. If done later in the season, especially with strong-growing varieties, a branching head may be formed higher up, during the first season, making very pretty trees. This is, however, seldom attempted with root-grafts
