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It seems to have been a popular misconception that any kind of plant will grow on any other. Pliny .asserts that the art of grafting was taught to man by nature. Birds swallow seeds, and these seeds, falling in "some cleft in the bark of a tree," germinate and make plants. "Hence it is that we see the cherry growing upon the willow, the plane upon the laurel, the laurel upon the cherry, and fruits of various tints and hues all springing from the same tree at once." This, of course, is not grafting at all, but the implanting of seeds in earth- filled chinks and cracks, in which the plants find a congenial foothold and soil. But the ancients have left us abundant testimony that genuine grafting was employed with success. Pliny describes a cleft-graft. He gives several precautions: the stock must be "that of a tree suitable for the purpose," and the graft must be "taken from one that is proper for grafting; the incision or cleft must not be made in a knot; the graft must be from a tree "that is a good bearer, and from a young shoot;" the graft must not be sharpened or pointed "while the wind is blowing;" "a graft should not be used that is too full of sap, no, by Hercules! no more than one that is dry and parched;" "it is a point most religiously observed, to insert the graft during the moon's increase."
It seems to have been a popular misconception that any kind of plant will grow on any other. Pliny .asserts that the art of grafting was taught to man by nature. Birds swallow seeds, and these seeds, falling in "some cleft in the bark of a tree," germinate and make plants. "Hence it is that we see the cherry growing upon the willow, the plane upon the laurel, the laurel upon the cherry, and fruits of various tints and hues all springing from the same tree at once." This, of course, is not grafting at all, but the implanting of seeds in earth- filled chinks and cracks, in which the plants find a congenial foothold and soil. But the ancients have left us abundant testimony that genuine grafting was employed with success. Pliny describes a cleft-graft. He gives several precautions: the stock must be "that of a tree suitable for the purpose," and the graft must be "taken from one that is proper for grafting; the incision or cleft must not be made in a knot; the graft must be from a tree "that is a good bearer, and from a young shoot;" the graft must not be sharpened or pointed "while the wind is blowing;" "a graft should not be used that is too full of sap, no, by Hercules! no more than one that is dry and parched;" "it is a point most religiously observed, to insert the graft during the moon's increase."
Herein are seen the beginnings of the grafting practices of the present day, together with some practices of layering. Sharrock treated the whole subject of
grafting under the head of "Insitions," and here he minutely describes the cleft-graft, and speaks of it as "the common way of grafting." The practice which we now know as inarching or grafting by approach, he significantly calls "Ablactation" (that is, suckling or weaning). Now that so much is said about the proper and careful selection of cions, it is interesting to read Shar- rock's advice on this subject: "Good bearing trees are made from Cyons of the like fruitfulness. . . . Cyons are best chosen from the fairest, strongest shuits, not from under shoots or suckers, which will be long ere they bear fruit, which is contrary to the intention of grafting." But we have seen that Pliny gave similar advice before the Christian era,—which is only another illustration of the fact that most of our current notions have their roots deep in the past.
The accompanying cut (Fig. 1673) reproduced two- thirds size from Robert Sharrock's "History of the Propagation and Improvement of Vegetables," 1672, shows various kinds of grafting in vogue over two centuries ago.
Budding.
The operation of budding consists of inserting a single detached bud underneath the bark of the stock. It is employed only in stocks of small diameter, and preferably in those not more than one year old. The operation may be performed whenever the bark will peel and whenever mature buds may be secured. The bark will peel in early spring and again in late summer or early autumn, and the operation of budding in the open ground is therefore performed at those times. In the spring the buds are secured from twigs of the previous season's growth. At the second budding season, in late summer or early autumn, the buds are secured from growing twigs of the season. At that time of the year the buds will be sufficiently developed to be easily recognized and handled.
Budding is much employed in nurseries. Peaches, cherries, plums, and most stone fruits, are habitually budded rather than cion-grafted. In the East, apples and pears are usually budded in the nursery; but in the West apples at least are usually root-grafted. Third-rate stocks are sometimes set in nursery rows and budded the following July.
It is practicable to insert buds rather than cions in the tops of young trees, for the purpose of changing the tree into a different variety. Sometimes the buds are inserted in limbs two and three years old; but it is usually preferable, if the tree is of some age, to cut back the tree somewhat heavily the previous season or the previous spring, to get a growth of suckers into which the buds may be set.
The cutting from which the buds are taken is known to budders as a stick (Fig. 1674). In early spring-budding, this stick is the last year's growth of the variety which it is desired to propagate. Later in the season, the stick is the twig grown in that season. Not all the buds on the stick are strong enough or good enough for budding. The budder will usually discard the weak ones at the top and at the bottom, unless he is very much pressed for buds, as may be the case with new or rare varieties. If the stick is taken late in the season the leaves will be on; but these are quickly cut off to prevent too much evaporation from the cutting. About ¼ inch of the leaf-stalk is left to serve as a handle to the bud.