84 EXPERIMENTS IN BLUEBERRY CULTURE. 



during the portion of the season remaining after the budding was 

 sufficient to strain the wrappings and, unless the bud wood was hekl 

 tightly for its Avhole length, to push the bud out of place. It was 

 found best to leave the bud tightly wrapped to'the end of the season, 

 notwithstanding the fact that the stock might become deeply creased 

 and choked. 



An examination of the buds that failed shoAved that in most cases 

 bark or callus from the stock had intruded between the stock wood 

 and the bud wood, sometimes covering the entire surface. While 

 the bud wood in some such cases was in part still alive and green, it 

 was of course doomed. 



As late as August 30 in New Hampshire, and September 3 in 

 Massachusetts, bushes of the swamp blueberry were found in Avhich the 

 bark would peel and buds could be inserted. On September 2 no wild 

 bushes of V accinium atrococcuTn coidd be found at AVashington in 

 condition to bud. Even in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, on 

 the dates mentioned, most of the bark on all the bushes and all of it 

 on many bushes would not peel. Bark still in good condition oc- 

 curred mostly on vigorous shoots of the season and in some cases of 

 the preceding season. Sometimes the bark on the north side of an 

 erect shoot would peel when that on the south side would not. Bark 

 still green and whole would peel when near-by bark which from age 

 and exposure had begun to turn brown and split on the surface would 

 not peel. 



Propagation by layering was carried on in 1908 and 1900, In 

 the greenhouse experiments moist live sphagnum proved to be a more 

 successful material than peat and sand in vrhich to root a layered 

 branch. When the branch laid down was one which was hardening 

 its wood but still bearing leaves, it callused and rooted readily in the 

 sphagnum at the point Avhere the bark Avas sliced, but when a young 

 soft-Avooded branch Avas used it usually began to decay at the cut 

 and finally died. Although several times tried it Avas ncA^er found 

 practicable to se\'er a layered and rooted branch from the parent 

 plant successfully except at the period of Avinter dormancy after the 

 leaves had been shed. 



(40) The most desirable method of propagating the swamp blueberry is by 

 cuttings. 



While the surest method of propagating a selected blueberry bush 

 is by layering, and the most rapid method of securing fruiting plants 

 from it is by grafting, both these methods haA^e certain objections 

 Avhich do not apply to the method of propagation by cuttings. j 



Propagation by grafting is objectionable because of the habit the ! 

 blueberry plant has of continually sending up ncAv shoots to replace ] 

 the old stems. These shoots come from the root or from the base of \ 



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