The other points to be observed are the following: the incision must not be made in a knot, as such an inhospitable rigidity will certainly repel the stranger plant; the incision should be made, too, in the part which is most compact, and it must not be much more than three fingers in length, not in a slanting direction, nor yet such as to pierce the tree from side to side. Virgil[3013] is of opinion, that the grafts should not be taken from the top, and it is universally agreed that it is best to select them from the shoulders of the tree which look towards the north-east;[3014] from a tree, too, that is a good bearer, and from a young shoot,[3015] unless, indeed, the graft is intended for an old tree, in which case it should be of a more robust growth. In addition to this, the graft ought to be in a state of impregnation, that is to say, swelling[3016] with buds, and giving every promise of bearing the same year; it ought, too, to be two years old, and not thinner than the little finger. The graft is inserted at the smaller end, when it is the object of the grower that it should not grow to any considerable length, but spread out on either side. But it is more particularly necessary that the buds upon the graft should be smooth and regular, and there must be nothing upon it at all scabbed or shrivelled. Success may be fully reckoned on if the pith of the graft is brought in contact with the wood and bark of the stock; that being a much better plan than merely uniting them bark to bark. In pointing the graft, the pith ought not to be laid bare; still, however, it should be pared with a small knife, so that the point may assume the form of a fine wedge, not more than three fingers in length, a thing that may be very easily effected by first steeping it in water and then scraping it. The graft, however, must not be pointed while the wind is blowing, and care must be taken that the bark is not rubbed off from either graft or stock. The graft must be thrust into the stock up to the point where the bark begins; care, too, must be taken not to wrench off the bark during the process of insertion, nor must it be thrust back so as to form any folds or wrinkles. It is for this reason that a graft should not be used that is too full of sap, no, by Hercules! no more than one that is dry and parched; for by doing so, in the former case, from the excess of moisture, the bark becomes detached, and in the latter, from want of vitality, it yields no secretions, and consequently will not incorporate with the stock.
It is a point most religiously[3017] observed, to insert the graft during the moon’s increase, and to be careful to push it down with both hands; indeed, it is really the fact, that in this operation, the two hands, acting at the same moment, are of necessity productive of a more modified and better regulated effort. Grafts that have been inserted with a vigorous effort are later in bearing, but last all the longer; when inserted more tenderly, the contrary is the result. The incision in the stock should not be too open or too large; nor ought it to be too small, for in such case it would either force out the graft or else kill it by compression. But the most necessary precaution of all is to see that the graft is fairly inserted, and that it occupies exactly the middle of the fissure in the stock.
Some[3018] persons are in the habit of making the place for the fissure in the stock with the knife, keeping the edges of the incision together with bands of osier bound tightly round the stock; they then drive in the wedges, the bands keeping the stock from opening too wide. There are some trees that are grafted in the seed-plot and then transplanted the very same day. If the stock used for grafting is of very considerable thickness, it is the best plan to insert the graft between the bark and the wood; for which purpose a wedge made of bone is best, for fear lest when the bark is loosened the wood should be bruised. In the cherry, the bark is removed before the incision in the stock is made; this, too, is the only tree that is grafted after the winter solstice. When the bark is removed, this tree presents a sort of downy substance, which, if it happens to adhere to the graft, will very speedily destroy it. When once the graft is safely lodged by the aid of the wedge, it is of advantage to drive it home. It is an excellent plan, too, to graft as near the ground as possible, if the conformation of the trunk and knots will admit of it. The graft should not project from the stock more than six fingers in length.
Cato[3019] recommends a mixture of argil[3020] or powdered chalk, and cow-dung, to be stirred together till it is of a viscous consistency, and then inserted in the fissure and rubbed all round it. From his writings on the subject it is very evident that at that period it was the practice to engraft only between the wood and the bark, and in no other way; and that the graft was never inserted beyond a couple of fingers in depth.[3021] He recommends, too, that the pear and the apple should be grafted in spring, as also during fifty days at the time of the summer solstice, and during the time of vintage; but that the olive and the fig should be grafted in spring only, in a thirsting, or in other words, a dry moon: he says also, that it should be done in the afternoon, and not while a south wind is blowing. It is a singular thing, that, not content with protecting the graft in the manner already mentioned, and with sheltering it from showers and frosts by means of turfs and supple bands of split osiers, he recommends that it should be covered with bugloss[3022] as well—a kind of herb so called—which is to be tied over it and then covered up with straw. At the present day, however, it is thought sufficient to cover the bark with a mixture of mud and chaff, allowing the graft to protrude a couple of fingers in length.
Those who wait for spring to carry on these operations, will find themselves pressed for time; for the buds are then just bursting, except, indeed, in the case of the olive, the buds of which are remarkably long in developing themselves, the tree itself having extremely little sap beneath the bark; this, too, is apt, when in too large quantities, to injure the grafts. As to the pomegranate, too, the fig, and the rest of the trees that are of a dry nature, it is far from beneficial to them to put off the process of grafting till a late period. The pear may be grafted even when in blossom, so that with it the operation may be safely delayed to the month of May even. If grafts of fruit trees have to be carried to any distance, it is considered the best plan, with the view of preserving the juices, to insert them in a turnip; they may also be kept alive by placing them near a stream or a pond, between two hollow tiles covered up at each end with earth. (15.) The grafts of vines, however, are kept in dry holes, in which they are covered over with straw, and then with earth, care being taken to let the tops protrude.[3023]
CHAP. 25.—GRAFTING THE VINE.
Cato[3024] speaks of three[3025] methods of grafting the vine. The first consists in piercing the stock to the pith, and then inserting the grafts, sharpened at the end, in manner already mentioned, care being taken to bring the pith of the two in contact. The second is adopted in case the two vines are near one another, the sides of them both being cut in a slanting direction where they face each other; after which the pith of the two trees is united by tying them together. In employing the third method, the vine is pierced obliquely to the pith, and grafts are inserted a couple of feet in length; they are then tied down and covered over with prepared earth, care being taken to keep them in an upright position. In our time, however, this method has been greatly improved by making use of the Gallic auger,[3026] which pierces the tree without scorching it; it being the fact, that everything that burns the tree weakens its powers. Care, too, is taken to select a graft that is just beginning to germinate, and not to leave more than a couple of the buds protruding from the stock. The vine, too, should be carefully bound with withes of elm, incisions being made in it on either side, in order that the slimy juices may exude through them in preference, which are so particularly injurious to the vine. After this, when the graft has grown a couple of feet, the withe by which it is fastened should be cut, and the graft left to increase of its own natural vigour.
The proper time[3027] for grafting the vine has been fixed as from the autumnal equinox to the beginning of the budding season. The cultivated plants are generally grafted on the roots of wild ones, where these last are of a drier nature. But if a cultivated tree should be grafted on a wild one, it will very soon degenerate and become wild.[3028] The rest depends entirely on the weather. Dry weather is the best suited for grafting; an excellent remedy for any evil effects that may possibly be caused by the drought, being a few pots of earth placed near the stock and filled with ashes; through which a little water is slowly filtered. Light dews are extremely favourable to grafting by inoculation.
CHAP. 26. (16)—GRAFTING BY SCUTCHEONS.[3029]
Grafting by scutcheons would appear to owe its origin to that by inoculation; but it is suited more particularly to a thick bark, such as that of the fig-tree for instance. For this purpose, all the branches are cut off, in order that they may not divert the sap, after which the smoothest part is selected in the stock, and a scutcheon[3030] of the bark removed, due care being taken that the knife does not go below it. A similar piece of bark from another tree, with a protuberant bud upon it, is then inserted in its place, care being taken that the union is so exact that there is no room left for a cicatrix to form, and the juncture so perfect as to leave no access to either damp or air: still, however, it is always the best plan to protect the scutcheon by means of a plaster of clay and a band. Those who favour the modern fashions pretend that this method has been only discovered in recent times; but the fact is, that we find it employed by the ancient Greeks, and described by Cato,[3031] who recommends it for the olive and the fig; and he goes so far as to determine the very dimensions even, in accordance with his usual exactness. The scutcheon, he says, when taken off with the knife should be four[3032] fingers in length, and three in breadth. It is then fitted to the spot which it is to occupy, and anointed with the mixture of his which has been previously described.[3033] This method, too, he recommends for the apple.