Chap. V
Of diuers other wayes of grafting, their vses and purposes.
Although for certainty, vse, and commodity, the manner of grafting already prescribed is of sufficiency inough to satisfie any constant or reasonable vnderstanding, yet for nouelty sake, to which our nation is infinitly addicted, and to satisfie the curious, who thinke their iudgements disparaged if they heare any authorised traueller talke of the things which they haue not practised, I will procéede to some other more quaint manners of grafting, and the rather because they are not altogether vnnecessary, hauing both certainety in the worke, pleasure in the vse, and benefit in the serious imploying of those howers which else might challenge the title of idlenesse, besides they are very well agréeing with the soyles and fruits of this Empyre of great Brittaine and the vnderstandings of the people, for whose seruice or benefit, I onely vndergoe my trauell.
You shall vnderstand therefore, that there is another way to graft, which is called grafting betwéene the barke and tree, and it is to be put in vse about the latter end of February, at such time as the sappe beginnes to enter into the trées: and the stockes most fit for this manner of grafting are those which are oldest and greatest, whose graine being rough and vneuen, either through shaking or twinding, it is a thing almost impossible to make it cleaue in any good fashion, so that in such a case it is meete that the grafter exercise this way of grafting betwixt the barke and the trée, the manner whereof is thus.
Grafting betweene the barke.
First, you shall dresse your grafts in such sort as was before discribed when you grafted in the cleft, onely they shall not be so long from the knot or seame downeward by an inch or more, neither so thicke, but as thinne as may be, the pith onely preserued, and at the neather end of all you shall cut away the barke on both sides, making that end smaller and narrower then it is at the ioynt or seame, then sawing off the head of the stocke, you shall with a sharpe knife pare the head round about, smooth and plaine, making the barke so euen as may be, that the barke of your grafts and it may ioyne like one body, then take a fine narrow chissell, not excéeding sharpe, but somewhat rebated, and thrust it hard downe betwixt the barke and the trée, somewhat more then two inches, according to the iust length of your graft, and then gently thrust the graft downe into the same place, euen close vnto the ioynt, hauing great care that the ioynt rest firme and constant vpon the head of the stocke, and thus you shall put into one stocke not aboue thrée grafts at the most, how euer either other mens practise, or your owne reading doe perswade you to the contrary. After your grafts are fixt and placed, you shall then couer the head with barke, clay, and mosse, as hath béene formerly shewed: also you shall fasten about it some bushes of thorne, or sharpe whinnes, which may defend and kéepe it from the annoyance of Pye-annats, and such like great birds.
There is another way of grafting, which is called grafting in the scutchion, which howsoeuer it is estéemed, yet is it troublesome, incertaine, and to small purpose: the season for it is in summer, from May till August, at what time trées are fullest of sappe and fullest of leaues, and the manner is thus: take the highest and the principallest branches of the toppe of the trée you would haue grafted, and without cutting it from the olde woode chuse the best eye and budding place of the cyon, then take another such like eye or budde, being great and full, and first cut off the leafe hard by the budde, then hollow it with your knife the length of a quarter of an inch beneath the budde, round about the barke, close to the sappe, both aboue and below, then slit it downe twice so much wide of the budde, and then with a small sharpe chissell raise vp the scutchion, with not onely the budde in the midst but euen all the sappe likewise, wherein you shall first raise that side which is next you, and then taking the scutchion betwéene your fingars, raise it gently vp without breaking or brusing, and in taking it off hould it hard vnto the woode, to the end the sappe of the budde may abide in the scutchion, for if it depart from the barke and cleaue to the woode, your labour is lost, this done you shall take another like cyon, and hauing taken off the barke from it, place it in the others place, and in taking off this barke you must be carfull that you cut not the woode, but the barke onely, and this done you shall couer it all ouer with redde waxe, or some such glutenous matter; as for the binding of it with hempe and such trumpery it is vtterly dissalowed of all good grafters: this manner of grafting may be put in practise vpon all manner of cyons, from the bignesse of a mans little fingar to the bignesse of a slender arme.
Grafting with the Leafe.
Not much vnlike vnto this, is the grafting with the Leafe, and of like worth, the art whereof is thus: any time betwixt midst May, vntill the midst of September, you shall chuse, from the toppe of the sunne-side of the trée, the most principall young cyon you can sée, whose barke is smoothest, whose leaues are greatest, and whose sappe is fullest, then cutting it from the trée note the principall leafe thereof, and cut away from it all the woode more then about an inch of each side of the leafe, then cutting away the vndermost part of the barke with your knife, take péece meale from the barke all the woode and sappe, saue onely that little part of woode and sappe which féedeth the leafe, which in any wise must be left behind, so that the graft will carry this figure.
Then goe to the body, arme, or branch of that trée which you intend to graft, which is to be presupposed must euer haue a smooth and tender barke, and with a very sharpe knife slit the barke, two slits at least, two inches long a péece, and about halfe an inch or more distance betwéene the two slits: then make another slit crosse-wise ouerthwart, from long slit to long slit, the figure whereof will be thus:
Then with your knife raise the barke gently from the trée, without breaking, cracking, or brusing: then take your graft, and putting it vnder the barke lay it flat vnto the sappe of the trée, so as that little sappe which is left in the leafe, may without impediment cleaue to the sappe of the trée, then lay downe the barke close againe and couer the graft, and with a little vntwound hempe, or a soft wollen list, binde downe the barke close to the graft, and then couer all the incisions you haue made with greene waxe: by this manner of grafting you may haue vpon one trée sundry fruits, as from one Apple-tree, both Pippins, Peare-maines, Russettings and such like, nay, you may haue vpon one tree, ripe fruit all summer long, as Ienettings from one branch, Cislings from another, Wibourns from another, Costards and Quéene-Apples from others, and Pippens and Russettings, from others, which bringeth both delight to the eye, and admiration to the sence, and yet I would not haue you imagine that this kinde of grafting doth onely worke this effect, for as before I shewed you, if you graft in the cleft (which is the fastest way of all grafting) sundry fruits vpon sundry armes or bowes, you shall likewise haue procéeding from them sundry sorts of fruits, as either Apples, Plumbes, Peares or any other kind, according to your composition and industry; as at this day we may dayly sée in many great mens Orchards.
Grafting on the toppes of trees.
There is yet another manner of grafting, and it is of all other especially vsed much in Italy, and yet not any thing disagréeable with our climate, and that is to graft on the small cyons which are on the toppes of fruit trées, surely an experience that carryeth in it both dificulty and wonder, yet being put to approbation is no lesse certaine then any of the other, the manner whereof is thus: you shall first after you haue chosen such and so many grafts as you doe intend to graft, and trimd them in the same manner as you haue béene taught formerly for grafting within the cleft, you shall then mount vp into the toppe of the trée, vpon which you meane to graft, and there make choise of the highest and most principallest cyons (being cleane barkt and round) that you can perceiue to grow from the trée, then laying the graft, and the cyon vpon which you are to graft, together, sée that they be both of one bignesse and roundnesse: then with your grafting knife cut the cyon off betwéene the olde woode and the new, and cleaue it downe an inch and an halfe, or two inches at the most: then put in your graft (which graft must not be cut thinner on one side, then on the other, but all of one thicknesse) and when it is in, sée that the barke of the graft both aboue and below, that is, vpon both sides, doe ioyne close, euen, and firme with the barke of the branch or cyon, and then by foulding a little soft towe about it, kéepe them close together, whilst with clay, mosse, and the in-most barke of Osyars you lappe them about to defend them from ayre, winde, and tempests. And herein you shall obserue to make your graft as short as may be, for the shortest are best, as the graft which hath not aboue two or thrée knots, or buddes, and no more. You may, if you please, with this manner of grafting graft vpon euery seuerall cyon, a seuerall fruit, and so haue from one trée many fruits, as in case of grafting with the leafe, and that with much more spéede, by as much as a well-growne graft is more forward and able then a weake tender leafe. And in these seuerall wayes already declared, consisteth the whole Art and substance of Grafting: from whence albeit many curious braines may, from preuaricating trickes, beget showes of other fashions, yet when true iudgement shall looke vpon their workes, he shall euer finde some one of these experiments the ground and substance of all their labours, without which they are able to doe nothing that shall turne to an assured commoditie.
The effects of Grafting.
Now when you haue made your selfe perfect in the sowing, setting, planting and grafting of trées, you shall then learne to know the effects, wonders, and strange issues which doe procéede from many quaint motions and helpes in grafting, as thus: if you will haue Peaches, Cherryes, Apples, Quinces, Medlars, Damsons, or any Plumbe whatsoeuer, to ripen earely, as at the least two months before the ordinary time, and to continue at least a month longer then the accustomed course, you shall then graft them vpon a Mulberry stocke: and if you will haue the fruit to tast like spice, with a certaine delicate perfume, you shall boyle Honey, the powder of Cloues and Soaxe together, and being cold annoynt the grafts there-with before you put them into the cleft, if you graft Apples, Peares, or any fruit vpon a Figge-tree stocke, they will beare fruit without blooming: if you take an Apple graft, & a Peare graft, of like bignesse, and hauing clouen them, ioyne them as one body in grafting, the fruit they bring forth will be halfe Apple and halfe Peare, and so likewise of all other fruits which are of contrary tastes and natures: if you graft any fruit-tree, or other trée, vpon the Holly or vpon the Cypresse, they will be greene, and kéepe their leaues the whole yéere, albeit the winter be neuer so bitter.
If you graft either Peach, Plumbe, or any stone-fruit vpon a Willow stocke, the fruit which commeth of them will be without stones.
If you will change the colour of any fruit, you shall boare a hole slope-wise with a large auger into the body of the trée, euen vnto the pith, and then if you will haue the fruit yealow you shal fill the hole with Saferne dissolued in water: if you will haue it redde, then with Saunders, and of any other colour you please, and then stoppe the hole vp close, and couer it with red or yealow waxe: also if you mixe the coulour with any spice or perfume, the fruit will take a rellish or tast of the same: many other such like conceits and experiments are practised amongst men of this Art, but sith they more concerne the curious, then the wise, I am not so carefull to bestow my labour in giuing more substantiall satisfaction, knowing curiosity loues that best which procéedes from their most paine, and am content to referre their knowledge to the searching of those bookes which haue onely strangnesse for their subiect, resolued that this I haue written is fully sufficient for the plaine English husbandman.