The next work is to insert the scions. They should never be longer than sufficient to have one eye above the surface of the soil, two or three eyes to the scion being generally enough. The cuttings are first cut in sufficient lengths in the field, or on the spot, and there pared to fit the cleft in the stock. If prepared in the house, they are apt to dry out and become ruined. By keeping them in water they may be kept fresh, but this greatly injures their quality. The best way is to bring the cuttings out to the vineyard wrapped up in wet sacks, and to cut and pare them on the spot where they are to be grafted. With a sharp knife the two opposite sides of the scions are pared off tapering, but not necessarily to a fine point. The scion is then fitted in the cleft, a small wooden wedge being useful for holding the latter open while the scion is fitted. If the stock closes tightly upon the graft, no tying is required, but, if the grip of the stock is not sufficient, tying is needed. Cotton cloth, manilla rope or anything that will hold the two together will answer the purpose. The stocks and scions will both dry slightly, and the tying should therefore be secure and tight. A piece of bark of the vine is next placed over the cleft, so as to prevent any soil from falling in the cleft, and very careful grafters use a paste made of a mixture of two parts of adobe or clay and one part of cowdung, for covering both the cleft and the sides of the grafts outside of the tying. A stout stake is driven in the ground close to the graft, and the two tied together in order that the graft may not give or be disturbed in the least. The hole is next filled with soil, which should be packed tightly and heaped above the scion, thus forming a small mound above the ground all around the graft. The soil should not be disturbed until the new shoots are well above the ground and have begun to harden their wood, at which time the security of the graft is fully assured. One or more of the grafts may be left growing for the first year, and later on all except one graft are cut off so as to give the vine only one trunk. In grafting on resistant stocks, the latter generally being smaller then old stocks, a different graft may be used, such as the whip graft. This graft should be above or at least near the top of the ground in order to prevent the scion from taking root, the latter’s roots not being resistant to the phylloxera. Such grafts should be carefully covered with the clay mixture, and soil should be heaped up over their tops. To prevent the scions from drying out, their tops may also be covered with grafting wax.