Fig. 80. A waxed stub.
The top-grafting of large trees is an important operation, and there are many men who make it a business. These men usually charge by the stub and warrant, the warrant meaning that one cion of the stub must be alive when the counting is done late in summer. From two to three cents a stub is a common price. A good grafter in good “setting” can graft from 400 to 800 stubs a day and wax them himself. Much depends upon the size of the trees, their shape, and the amount of pruning which must be done before the grafter can work in them handily. Every man who owns an orchard of any extent should be able to do his own grafting. The most important factor in the top-grafting of an old tree is the shaping of the top. The old top is to be removed during three or four or five years and a new one is to be grown in its place. If the tree is old, the original plan or shape of the top will have to be followed in its general outlines. The branches should be grafted, as a rule, where they do not exceed an inch and a half in diameter, as cions do better in such branches, the wounds heal quickly and the injury to the tree is less than when very large stubs are used. The operator should endeavor to cut all the leading stubs at approximately equal distances from the center of the tree. And then, to prevent the occurrence of long and pole-like branches, various minor side-branches should be grafted. These will serve to fill out the new top and to afford footholds for pruners and pickers. [Fig. 81] is a good illustration of an old apple tree just top-grafted. Many stubs should be set, and at least all the prominent branches should be grafted if the tree has been well-trained. It is better to have too many stubs and to be obliged to cut out some of them in after years, than to have too few. In thick-topped trees, care must be exercised not to cut out so much the first year that the inner branches will sunburn. All large branches which must be sacrificed ought to be cut out when the grafting is done, as they increase in diameter very rapidly after so much of the top is removed. One horizontal branch lying directly over or under another should not be grafted, for it is the habit of grafts to grow upright rather than horizontally in the direction of the branch. It is well to split all stubs on such branches horizontally, that one cion may not stand directly under another.
Fig. 81. Top-grafted old tree.
Top-grafting is performed in spring. The best time is when the leaves are pushing out, as wounds made then heal quickly and cions are most apt to live. But when a large amount of grafting must be done, it is necessary to begin a month or even two before the leaves start. On the other hand, the operation can be extended until a month or more after the leaves are full-grown, but such late cions make a short growth, which is likely to perish the following winter. Professional grafters usually divide their men into three gangs, one to do the cutting of the stubs, one to set the cions, and one to apply the wax. The cions are all whittled before the grafter enters the tree. They are then usually moistened by dipping into a pail of water and are carried in a high side-pocket in the jacket. The handiest mallet is a simple club or billy, a foot and a half long, hung over the wrist by a loose soft cord (Fig 82). 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. 79] is commonly used. A downward stroke of the mallet drives the knife into the tree and an upward motion immediately following 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. And the common style of grafting-knife sold by seedsmen, comprising a thin, broad blade set in a heavy back piece, is also worthless. 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 serious operations. A very good grafting-knife for small stocks or trees in nursery row is shown in [Fig. 83]. This is the Thomas knife. The larger arm is made entirely of wood. At its upper end is a grooved portion into which the blade closes. This blade can be made from the blade of a steel case-knife, and it should be about two and a half inches long. It is secured to an iron handle. The essential feature of this implement is the draw cut which is secured by setting the blades and the pivot in just the positions shown in the figure. The stock is cut off by the shears, and the cleft is then made by turning the shears up and making a vertical cut. The cleft is therefore cut instead of split, insuring a tight fit of the cions. This tool is particularly useful upon hard and crooked-grained stocks.
Fig. 82. Grafting-mallet.
Cleft-grafting is often employed for other purposes than the top-grafting of old trees. It is in common use on soft and fleshy stocks, as cactuses, and various fleshy roots. [Fig. 84] shows a cleft-graft on cactus. The cion is held in place with a pin or cactus spine, and it is then bound with raffia or other cord. Waxing is not necessary. [Fig. 85] illustrates a cleft root-graft of peony. The cleft in the thick root is cut with a knife, and the stock is bound up securely, usually with wire, as cord, unless waxed, rots off too quickly. Wax is not used, as the graft is buried to the top bud. The peony is grafted in summer. Dahlias are often grafted after the same fashion, although some operators prefer, in such fleshy subjects, to cut out a section from the side of the stock to receive the cion, rather than to make a cleft. Hollyhocks, ipomœas, gloxinias and other thick-rooted plants may be similarly treated.