BUDDING AS A MEANS OF IMPROVING FRUITS. 



423 



side and quite close to the ground. The north side is chosen to avoid 

 the danger of their being dried out by the sun or by the dry south 

 winds, that are frequent in this climate. 



BUDDING— Illustrated. 



(1.) Vertical and cross cuts made in stock. 



(2.) Buds partly cut out. 



(3.) Bud. / 



(4.) Bud pushed into stock. 



(5.) Tied with raffia. 



(6.) Stock cut off after hud has started. (This should not have been cut off until the 

 bud had grown several feet high.) 



Operation: The budder takes the position as shown in Fig. 1. 

 He selects a place on the stocks near the ground and where the bark 

 is healthy. With the rounded point of a sharp knife a slit about one 

 and one half inches long is cut lengthwise of the stock. At the upper 

 end a cut is made across this, as at (1) Fig. 2. The point of the 

 knife is now inserted into the matrix to lift the bark from the wood. 

 A bud is cut from one of the bud sticks by starting about one-half 

 inch below the bud (2) and moving carefully under the bud and 

 about three-fourths inch above it. The bud (3) should have enough 

 bark and wood attached so that it is quite firm — not taking merely 

 the bud alone. Holding the bud near the point of the knife, it is now 

 pushed down its full length (4) firmly into the matrix. It is then 

 (5) tied in place (see Fig. 1) with any convenient tying material, as 

 cotton yarn, string or raffia. Raffia is one of the best tying materials. 

 Cut it into convenient lengths (usually about twelve inches) and 



