Columella writes a good deal
about grafting, in De re rustica 5.11.1-15 and De arboribus 26-27
(although a good deal of the material in the two works overlaps, even to the
point of being straight repetition). He includes a considerable amount also
about oleiculture, in De re rustica from 5.9.16. He certainly thinks he
knows what he is talking about, and it is interesting that in 5.9.16, almost in
passing, he says that well-established trees that are failing to produce proper
crops can be rejuvenated and made more productive if they are ingrafted with
shoots from the wild olive. (A. G. Baxter and J. A. Ziesler, “Paul and
Arboriculture: Romans 11.17-24,” Journal for the Study of the New Testament
7, no. 24 [1985]: 26)
Columella, De
re rustica 5.9.16-17:
It happens also frequently that,
though the trees are thriving well, they fail to bear fruit. IT is a good plan
to bore them with a Gallic auger and to put tightly into the hole a green slip
taken from a wild olive-tree; the result is that the tree, being as it were
impregnated with fruitful offspring, becomes more productive. But it must also
be assisted by being dug round and by unsalted lees of oil mixed with pigs
urine or stale human urine, a fixed quantity of each being observed; for a very
large tree an urn will be fully enough, if the sdame quantity of water
is mixed with it. Olive-trees also often refuse to bear fruit because of the
badness of the soil. This we shall remedy in the following manner. We shall dig
deep trenches in circles round them and then put more or less lime round them
according to the size of the tree, though the smallest tree requires a modius.
If there is no result from this remedy, we shall have to have recourse to the
assistance of grafting. How an olivetree should be ingrafted we will describe
hereafter, Sometimes also one branch of an olive-tree flourishes somewhat more
than the rest and, unless you cut it back, the whole tree will languish. (Lucius
Junius Moderatus Columella: On Agriculture, 3 vols. [trans. E. S. Forster;
The Loeb Classical Library], 2:85, 87)
Columella, De
re rustica 5.11.1-15:
XI. Any kind of scion can be grafted
on any tree, if it is not dissimilar in respect of bark to the tree in which it
is grafted; indeed if it also bears similar fruit and at the same season, it
can perfectly well be grafted without any scruple. Further, the ancients have
handed down to us three kinds of grafting; one in which the tree, which has
been cut and cleft, receives the scions which have been cut; the second, in
which the tree having been cut admits grafts between the bark and the hard wood
(both these methods belong to the season of spring); and the third, when the
tree receives actual buds with a little bark into a part of it which has been
stripped of the bark. The last kind the husbandmen call emplastration or,
according to some, inoculation. This type of grafting is best employed in the
summer. When we have imparted the method of these graftings, we will also set
forth another which we have discovered.
You should engraft all other
trees as soon as they begin to put forth buds and when the moon is waxing, but
the olive-tree about the spring equinox and until April 13th. See that the tree
from which you intend to graft and are going to take scions for insertion is
young and fruitful and has frequent knots and, as soon as the buds begin to
swell, choose from among the small branches which are a year old those which
face the sun’s rising and are sound and have the thickness of the little
finger. The scions should have two or three points. You should cut the tree
into which you wish to insert the scion carefully with a saw in the part which
is most healthy and free from scars, and you will take care not to damage the
bark. Then, when you have cut away part of the trunk, smooth over the wound
with a sharp iron instrument; then put a kind of thin wedge of iron or bone
between the bark and the firm-wood to a depth of not less than three inches,
but do so carefully so as not to damage or break the bark. Afterwards with a
sharp pruning-knife pare down the scions which you wish to insert, at their
bottom end to such a size as will fill the space given by a wedge which has
been thrust in, in such a way as not to damage the cambium or the bark on the
other side. When you have got the scions ready, pull out the wedge and
immediately push down the scions into the holes which you made by driving in
the wedge between the bark and the firm-wood. Put in the scions by inserting
the end where you have pared them down in such a way that they stand out
half-afoot or more from the tree. You will be correct in inserting two grafts
in one tree, or more if the trunk is larger, provided that the space between
them is not less than four inches. In doing so take into account the size of
the tree and the quality of the bark. When you have put in all the scions that
the tree will stand, bind the tree with elm-bark or reeds or osiers; next with
well-worked clay mixed with straw daub the whole of the wound and the space
between the grafts to the point at which the scions still project at least four
inches. Then put moss over the clay and bind it on so that the rain may not
seep through. Some people, however, prefer to make _a place for the slips in
the trunk of the tree with a saw and then smooth the parts in which cuts have
been made with a thin surgical-knife and then fit in the grafts. If the tree
which you wish to engraft is small, cut it off low down so that it projects a
foot and a half from the ground; then, after cutting it down, carefully smooth
the wound and split the stock in the middle a little way with a sharp knife, so
that there is a cleft of three inches in it. Then insert a wedge by which the
cleft may be kept open, and thrust down into it scions which have been pared
away on both sides, in such a way as to make the bark of the scion exactly meet
the bark of the tree. When _ you have carefully fitted in the scions, pull out
the wedge and bind the tree in the manner described above; then heap the earth
round the tree right up to the graft. This will give the best protection from
wind and heat.
A third kind of grafting is our
own invention; being a very delicate operation, it is not suited to every kind
of tree. Generally speaking those trees admit of this kind of grafting which
have moist, juicy and strong bark, like the fig-tree; for this both yields a
great abundance of milk and has a stout bark, and so a graft can be very
successfully inserted by the following method. On the tree from which you wish
to take your grafts, you should seek out young and healthy branches, and you
should look out on them for a bud which has a good appearance and gives sure
promise of producing a sprout. Make a mark round it enclosing two square
inches, so that the bud is in the middle, and then make an incision all round
it with a sharp knife and remove the bark carefully so as not to damage the
bud. Also choose the healthiest branch of the other tree, which you are going
to inoculate, and cut out a part of the bark of the same dimensions as before
and strip the bark off the firm-wood. Then fit the scutcheon which you have
prepared to the part which you have bared, so that it exactly corresponds to
the area on the other tree from which the bark has been stripped. Having done
this, bind the bud well all round and be careful not to damage the sprout
itself. Then daub the joints of the wound and the ties round them with mud,
leaving a space, so that the bud may be free and not be constricted by
thebinding. Cut away the shoot and upper branches of the tree into which you
have inserted the graft, so that there may be nothing to which the sap can be
drawn off or benefit from the sap to another part rather than the graft. After
the twenty-first day unbind the scutcheon. This kind of grafting is very
successful with the olive also. (Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella: On
Agriculture, 3 vols. [trans. E. S. Forster; The Loeb Classical Library], 2:101,
103, 105, 107, 109)
Columella, De arboribus 26-27:
XXVI
DE INSITIONE.
Omnis surculus inseri potest, si non est ei arbori, cui inseritur,
dissimilis cortice; si vero fructum etiam eodem tempore fert, sine ullo
scrupulo optime inseritur. Tria autem genera insitionum antiqui tradiderunt:
unum, quod resecta et fissa arbore recipit insertos surculos; alterum, quo
resecta inter librum et materiem admittit semina, quae utraque genera verni
temporis sunt; tertium, cum ipsas gemmas cum exigua cortice in partem sui
delibratam recipit, quam vocant agricolae emplastrationem; hoc genus aestatis
est. [2] Quarum insitionum rationem cum tradiderimus, a nobis quoque
repertam docebimus. Omnes arbores
simulatque gemmas agere coeperint, luna crescente inserito, olivam autem circa
aequinoctium vernum usque in Idus Apriles. Ex qua arbore inserere voles et
surculos ad insitionem sumpturus es, videto, ut sit tenera et ferax nodisque
crebris, et cum primum germinatum ebunt, de ramulis anniculis, qui solis ortum
spectabunt et integri erunt, eos legito crassitudine minimi digiti; surculi
sint bisulci. [3] Arborem, quam inserere voles, serra diligenter exsecato ea
parte, quae maxime nitida et sine cicatrice est, dabisque operam, ne librum
laedas. Cum deinde truncam reddideris, acuto ferramento plagam levato; dein
quasi cuneum ferreum vel osseum inter corticem et materiem, ne minus digitos
tres, sed lente dimittito, ne laedas aut rumpas corticem. [4] Postea surculos,
quos inserere voles, falce acuta ab una parte eradito tam alte quam cuneum
demisisti, sed ita ne medullam neve alterius partis corticem laedas; ubi
surculos paratos habueris, cuneum vellito statimque surculos demittito in ea
foramina, quae cuneo adacto inter corticem et materiem facta sunt. Ea autem
fine, qua adraseris, surculos demittito ita, ut sex digitis de arbore exstent.
In una autem arbore duos aut tres ramulos figito, dum ne minus quaternum
digitorum inter eos sit spatium. Pro arboris magnitudine et corticis bonitate
haec facito. [5] Cum omnes surculos, quos arbor patietur, demiseris, libro ulmi
vel vimine arborem adstringito; postea paleato luto bene subacto oblinito totam
plagam et spatium, quod est inter surculos usque eo, utduobus digitis insita
exstent; supra lutum muscum inponito et ita adligato, ne pluvia dilabatur. [6]
Si pusillam arborem inserere voles, iuxta terram abscidito, ita ut sesquipedem
a terra exstet. Cum deinde abscideris, plagam diligenter levato et medium truncum
acuto scalpro modice findito, ita ut fissura trium digitorum sit. In eam deinde
cuneum, quo dispaletur, inserito et surculos ex utraque parte adrasos
demittito, ita ut librum seminis libro arboris aequalem facias. Cum surculos
diligenter aptaveris, cuneum vellito et arborem, ut supra dixi, alligato et
oblinito; dein terram circa arborem aggerato usque ad ipsum insitum. Ea res a
vento et calore maxime tuebitur. [7] Tertium genus insitionis, cum sit
subtilissimum, non omni generi arborum idoneum est, et fere eae recipiunt talem
insitionem, quae humidum sucosumque et validum librum habent, sicuti ficus. Nam et lactis plurimum remittit et
corticem robustam habet. Optime itaque ea inseritur tali ratione. [8] Ex qua arbore inserere voles, in ea
quaerito novellos et nitidos ramos. In his deinde observato gemmam, quae bene
apparebit certamque spem germinis habebit; eam duobus digitis quadratis
circumsignato, ut gemma media sit, et ita acuto scalpello circumcisam
diligenter, ne gemmam laedas, delibrato. Item quam arborem inserere voles, in
ea nitidissimum ramum eligito et eiusdem spatii corticem circumcidito et a
materie delibrato. Deinde in eam partem, quam nudaveris, gemmam, quam ex altera
arbore sumpseras, aptato, ita ut ante emplastrum circumcisae parti conveniat.
[9] Ubi haec feceris, circa gemmam bene vincito, itane laedas; deinde
conmissuras et vincula luto oblinito, spatio relicto, qua gemma libere
germinet. Materiem quam inseveris, si sub olem vel supra ramum habebit, omnia
praecidito, ne quid sit, quo possit avocari aut cui magis quam insito serviat.
Post unum et vicesimum diem solvito emplastrum. Hoc genere optime etiam olea
inseritur. Quartum illud genus insitionis iam docuimus, cum de vitibus disputavimus;
itaque supervacuum est hoc loco repetere iam traditam rationem terebrationis.
XXVII
Sed cum antiqui negaverint posse omne genus surculorum in omnem arborem
inseri et illam quasi infinitionem, qua nos paulo ante usi sumus, veluti
quandam legem sanxerint, eos tantum surculos posse coalescere, qui sint cortice
ac libro et fructu consimiles iis arboribus, quibus inseruntur, existimavimus
errorem huius opinionis discutiendum tradendamque posteris rationem, qua possit
omne genus surculi omni generi arboris inseri. [2] Quod ne longiori exordio legentes fatigemus,
unum quasi exemplum subiciemus, qua similitudine quod quisque genus volet omni
arbori poterit inserere.
OLIVAM FICO INSERERE.
Scrobem quoquoversus pedum quattuor ab arbore olivae tam longe fodito, ut
extremi rami oleae possint eam contingere. In scrobem deinde fici arbusculam
deponito diligentiamque adhibeto, ut robusta et nitida fiat. [3] Post triennium
aut quinquennium, cum iam satis amplum incrementum ceperit, ramum olivae, qui
videbitur nitidissimus, deflecte et ad crus arboris ficulneae religa atque ita
amputatis ceteris ramulis ea tantum cacumina, quae inserere voles, relinquito;
tum arborem fici detruncato plagamque levato et mediam cuneo findito. [4]
Cacumina deinde olivae, sicuti matri inhaerent, utraque parte adradito et ita
fissurae fici aptato cuneumque eximito et diligenter conligato, ne qua vi
revellantur. Sic interposito triennio coalescet ficus olivae, et tum demum
quarto anno, cum bene coierit, velut propaginis ramulos olivae ramos a matre
resecabis. Hoc modo omne
genus in omnem arborem inseritur.
English Translation:
XXVI
On Grafting
Any shoot may be grafted, provided its bark is not
unlike the bark of the tree into which it is grafted; and if it also bears
fruit at the same season, it is grafted most successfully without any doubt.
The ancients handed down three kinds of grafting: one in which a cut and split
tree receives inserted shoots; a second in which, after cutting, seeds (or
scions) are admitted between the bark and the wood — both of these kinds belong
to the season of spring; a third in which the very buds, with a little bit of
bark, are received into a portion cut away from the stock, which farmers call
“emplastration” (budding); this last kind is for summer. [2]
Having explained the method of those graftings, we will
also teach a method we ourselves have discovered. Whenever all trees begin to
set buds, graft during the waxing moon; but for the olive graft from about the
vernal equinox until the Ides of April. From whatever tree you wish to take
grafts, and from which you will take shoots for grafting, see that they are
tender, vigorous, and with frequent nodes; and as soon as they begin to put out
shoots, gather them from year-old little branches that face the rising sun and
are sound, taking them to the thickness of the smallest finger; the shoots
should be double-grooved. [3]
Carefully saw away the part of the tree you wish to
graft into on the spot that is most smooth and free of scars, taking care not
to injure the inner bark. When you have exposed the trunk, with a sharp
instrument raise a flap; then insert, slowly and carefully (so as not to tear
or break the bark), an iron or bone wedge between bark and wood to the width of
not less than three fingers. [4]
Next, with a sharp sickle cut away the shoots you
intend to graft from one side, as high as the wedge was driven, taking care not
to wound the pith or the bark of the other side. When you have the shoots
ready, withdraw the wedge and immediately place the shoots into the openings
made by the wedge between bark and wood. Put the shoots in at the end where you
pared them so that they project six fingers from the tree. In one tree insert
two or three small branches, leaving at least the space of four fingers between
them. Do this according to the size of the tree and the goodness of the bark.
[5]
When you have set all the shoots the tree will take,
bind the tree with an elm strip or withes; then with well-prepared clay mixed
with chaff smear over the whole incision and the space between the shoots up to
where the grafts project two fingers; lay moss over the clay and bind it so
that rain will not wash it away. [6]
If you wish to graft a small tree, cut it down near the
ground so that it stands a foot and a half above the earth. After cutting,
carefully lift the bark and split the middle of the trunk moderately with a
sharp chisel so that the cleft is three fingers wide. Then insert the wedge
with which it is to be spread, and let down shoots shaved on both sides from
each side, so that the bark of the scion matches the bark of the tree. When you
have fitted the shoots carefully, withdraw the wedge and bind and smear the
tree as I described above; then heap earth around the tree up to the graft
itself. This will protect it greatly from wind and heat. [7]
The third kind of grafting, because it is most
delicate, is not suitable for every species of tree; generally those trees
accept such grafting which have moist, juicy, and strong bark, such as the fig.
For it yields much milky sap and has a robust bark. It is therefore best
grafted in this way. [8]
From the tree you mean to take the bud, look for young,
glossy shoots. On these choose a bud that is clearly visible and shows a sure
promise of growth; mark it out squarely with the width of two fingers so that
the bud is in the middle, and then carefully pare it with a sharp knife so as
not to injure the bud. Likewise, on the tree you will graft into, choose the
smoothest branch, cut the bark of the same size and pare away the wood there.
Then fit the bud you took from the other tree into that spot you have stripped,
so that it matches the circumscribed area of the emplaster. [9]
When this is done, bind well around the bud so as not
to injure it; then smear the seams and the bindings with clay, leaving a space
so that the bud may freely sprout. Trim off any of the material you inserted if
it projects below or above the branch, so that nothing remains which could draw
away nourishment or serve itself rather than the graft. After twenty-one days
remove the plaster. By this method the olive is also grafted most successfully.
We have already taught that fourth kind of grafting
when we discussed vines; accordingly it is superfluous to repeat here the
procedure for boring which has already been given.
XXVII
But since the ancients denied that every kind of shoot
can be grafted into every tree, and as if they had fixed that limitation — the
rule we used a little earlier — like some law, thinking that only those shoots
could unite which were similar in bark and wood and fruit to the trees into
which they are inserted, we thought the error of this opinion ought to be
refuted and a method handed down to posterity by which any kind of shoot can be
grafted into any kind of tree. To avoid tiring readers with a long preface, we
will offer a single example by which, by analogy, any desired kind may be
grafted onto any tree.
GRAFTING AN OLIVE INTO A FIG.
Dig a pit in any direction about four feet from the
olive-tree, far enough that the outermost branches of the olive can reach it.
Then place a young fig sapling in the pit and take care that it grow robust and
vigorous. After three or five years, when it has acquired a sufficiently large
growth, bend down an olive branch that looks the glossiest and tie it to the
stem of the fig tree, and having cut away the other little branches in this way
leave only those tips which you wish to graft. Then, having cut the fig tree
and raised a flap of bark, split the middle with a wedge. Next pare the tips of
the olive, as they adhere to the parent, on both sides, fit them into the cleft
of the fig, remove the wedge, and bind carefully so that they are not torn
away. Thus, after three years the fig and the olive will have united, and then
at the fourth year, when they have joined well, you will cut off the olive’s
branches from the mother tree as if they were simple offshoots. In this way any
kind may be grafted onto any tree.
