137. ¶ What fruite shuld be fyrste graffed.
[Sidenote: Graft pears before apples.] Peares and wardens wolde be graffed before any maner of apples, bycause the sappe commeth sooner and rather in-to the peare-tree and warden-tree, thanne in-to the [Sidenote: Graft from Feb. 14 to March 25.] apple-tree. And after saynt Valentynes daye, it is tyme 4 to grade both peares and wardens, tyll Marche be comen, and thanne to graffe appels to our lady daye. And than graffe that that is gette of an olde apple-tree fyrste, for that wyll budde before the graffe get of a yonge apple-tree 8 late graffed. And a peare or a warden wolde be graded in a pyrre-stocke; and if thou canst get none, [Sidenote: [Fol. 55*_b_.]] than graffe it in a crabbe-tree stocke, and it wyll do well: and some men grade theym in a whyte-thorne, and than 12 [Sidenote: A crab-stock is best for apples.] it wyll be the more harder and stonye. And for all maner of appels, the crabtree stocke is beste.
[Sidenote: Select the graft.] Thou muste get thy graffes of the fayrest lanses, that thou canste fynde on the tree, and see that it haue a good [Sidenote: Saw the crab-tree,] knotte or ioynte, and an euen. Than take thy sawe, and sawe in-to thy c[r]abbetree, in a fayre playne place, pare it 4 [Sidenote: cleave and open the stock;] euen with thy knyfe, and thanne cleaue the stocke with thy greatte knyfe and thy mallet, and set in a wedge, and open the stocke, accordynge to the thyckenesse of thy graffe; thanne take thy smalle sharpe knyfe, and cutte 8 the graffe on bothe sydes in the ioynte, but passe not the myddes therof for nothynge, and let the inner syde, that shall be set in-to the stocke, be a lyttel thynner than the vtter syde, and the nether poynte of the graffe the 12 [Sidenote: then put the graft into the stock.] thynner: than proferre thy graffe in-to the stocke; and if it go not close, than cut the graffe or the stocke, tyll they close cleane, that thou canste not put the edge of [Sidenote: [Fol. 56*.]] thy knyfe on neyther syde betwene the stocke and the 16 graffe, and sette them so that the toppes of the graffe bende a lyttell outewarde, and see that the wodde of the graffe be set mete with the wodde of the stocke, and the sappe of the stocke maye renne streyght and euen with 20 [Sidenote: The bark of the graft is thinner than that of the stock.] the sappe of the graffe. For the barke of the graffe is neuer soo thicke as the barke of the stocke. And therfore thou mayste not sette the barkes mete on the vtter syde, but on the inner syde: than pulle awaye thy wedge, 24 and it wyl stande moche faster. Than take toughe cleye, lyke marley, and ley it vppon the stocke-heed, and with thy fynger laye it close vnto the graffe, and a lyttel vnder the heed, to kepe it moyst, and that no wynde come into 28 [Sidenote: Cover with moss, and bind with bast.] the stocke at the cleauynge. Than take mosse, and laye thervpon, for chynynge of the claye: than take a baste of whyte wethy or elme, or halfe a bryer, and bynd the mosse, the clay, and the graffe together, but be well ware, 32 that thou breake not thy graffe, neyther in the clayenge, nor in the byndynge; and thou muste set some-thinge by the graffe, that crowes, nor byrdes do not lyght vpon thy graffe, for if they do, they wil breake hym, &c. 36