CHE REFERENCE LIBRARY - Pole Shift Survival Information

148 THE NURSERY-MANUAI,
dressil,g, however. The stub is then split to the depth
of l-& or 3 inches. Various styles of grafting-knife are
used to split the stub. One
of the best ones is shown in
Fig. 168. It is commonly
made from an old file by a
Fro. 1GS. Home-made gmfting-knife.
bla,cksmith. The blade is
curved, so that the bark of the stub is drawn in when the
knife is entering, thereby lessening the danger of loosening
the bark. Another style of knife is illustrated in Fig. 169.
In this tool, the cutting edge is straight, and, being thinner
than the other tool, tends rather to cut the stub than to split
it. On the end of these knives
i:; a wedge, about 4 or 5 inches
long. for opening the cleft. The
wedge is driven into the cleft and
~~awaw~,~
FIxa. 169. CLfo-grafting-knife (x 4).
allowed to remain while the cions
are placed. If the cleft does not open wide enough to allow the
cions to enter, the operator bears down on the handle. It is
important that the wedge stand well away from the curved
blade in the knife shown in Fig. 168, else it cannot be driven
into the stub. In Fig. 169 7 showing the style of knife
commonly seen in the market - the wedge is too short for
most efficient service.
There are various devices
for facilitating the operation
of cleft-grafting, but none
of them has become popular.
Oue of the best is
Hoit’s device (Fig. 170))
FIG. 170. Hoit’s grd&r.
which cuts a slot into the
side of the stub. The machine
is held in place by a trigger or clamp working in notches
on the under side of the frame. The upper handle is then