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Handbook of Nature-Study 



scion which is a twig bearing several buds, is cut from a tree of the desired 

 variety, and its lower end is cut wedge-shaped. The branch of the tree to 

 be grafted is cut off across and split down through the end to the depth of 

 about two inches ; the wedge-shaped end of the scion is pressed into this cleft, 

 so that its bark will come in contact with the inner edge of the bark on one 

 side of the cleft branch. The reason for this is that the growing part of the 

 tree is the cambium layer, which is just inside of the bark, and if the cam- 

 bium of the scion does not come in contact with the cambium of the branch 

 they will not grow together. After the graft becomes well-established, the 

 other branches of the tree are cut off and the tree produces apples only from 

 that part of it which grows from the graft. After the scion has been set in 

 the stock, all of the wounded parts are covered with grafting wax, which 

 keeps in the moisture and keeps out disease germs. 



Shield-budding. 



The T-shaped slit and 



the bud. 

 One-half natural size. 



The bud set in the 

 slit. 



One-half natural 

 size. 



The bud tied. 



Budding is done on a similar principle, but in a different fashion. A 

 seedling apple tree about a year and a half old has a T-shaped slit cut into 

 its bark; into this suture a bud, cut from a tree of the desired variety is 

 inserted, and is bound in with yarn. The next spring this tree is cut back 

 to just above the place where the bud was set in, and this bud-shoot grows 

 several feet ; the next year the tree may be sold to the orchardist. Budding 

 is done on a large scale in the nurseries, for it is by this method that the 

 different varieties are placed on the market. 



Most varieties of apple trees should be set forty feet apart each way. It 

 is possible, if done judiciously, to raise some small crops on the land with 

 the young orchard, but care should be taken that they do not rob the trees 

 of their rightful food. The dwarf varieties begin to bear much sooner than 

 the others, but an orchard does not come into full bearing until after it has 

 been planted fifteen or twenty years. The present practice is to prune a 

 tree so that the trunk shall be very short. This makes the picking of the 

 fruit much easier and also exposes the tree less to wind and sun-scald. 



There are certain underlying principles of pruning that every child 

 should know: The pruning of the root cuts down the amount of food 

 which the tree is able to get from the soil. The pruning of the top throws 

 the food into the branches which are left and makes them more vigorous. 

 If the buds at the tips of the twigs are pruned off, the food is forced into the 

 side buds and into the fruit, which make greater growth. Thinning the 



