The wounds must now be covered with wax. Fig. 80 illustrates a stub after the covering has been applied. If the grafting is done in early spring when the weather is cold, the wax will have to be applied with a brush. The wax is melted in a glue-pot, which is carried into the tree. But if the weather is warm enough to soften the wax, it should be applied with the hands. The hands are first greased to prevent the wax from sticking. The two side or vertical portions are applied first. The end of the mass of wax in the hand is flattened into a thin portion about a half inch wide. This portion is then laid over the bud and held there by the thumb of the other hand, while the wax is drawn downwards over the cleft, being pressed down firmly upon the bark by the thumb of the first hand. The wax gradually tails out until it breaks off just below the lowest point of the cleft. The flattened upper part is then wrapped around the cion upon either side, completely and tightly encircling it. A simple deft wrapping of the wax about the cion makes a tighter joint than can be secured in twice the time by any method of pinching it into place. Another portion of wax is now flattened and applied over the end of the stub. Many grafters apply a bit of wax to the tops of the cion also. All the wounds must be covered securely. [Illustration: Fig. 79. A cleft grafting-knife.] [Illustration: 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