VIII PROPAGATION 149 
may be cut away—in standards, reserving one or 
two wild buds only on the worked shoots above the 
inserted bud, and cleanly removing all others which 
have been unsuccessful or unbudded, and on dwarfs 
cutting away the actual stem with all the wild 
growth upon it to within three or four inches of 
the bud. 
The buds of Teas will, in many places, require 
protection during the winter, as described in 
Chapter IV. Some of the earliest buds may begin 
to grow even in March, and all, whether dormant 
or growing, will need constant examination during 
April to protect them from insect enemies, especially 
weevils and the black grub. 
Some recommend the pinching closely back of 
those buds which start with only one shoot, to cause 
them to break again in two or more shoots. I used 
to find it necessary to ‘“‘harden my heart”’ very 
much to perform this operation; and, when a sharp 
frost supervened one year and killed nearly the 
whole of these mutilated buds, I gave it up com- 
pletely, believing one shoot “‘in the hand (or at all 
events securely tied up) to be worth two in the 
bush.” It is regularly done, however, in many large 
nurseries, even with the tenderest Teas ; and I have 
taken to it again for the earliest buds, as a single 
shoot is a bad foundation for a good plant. Great 
care should be taken that the bud is not rubbed out 
of its socket, as it may easily be by a blow or even 
an unconscious touch, for then it will be ruined. 
The first pushing buds are those that should be 
operated on, and as pinching is rather hazardous for 
a novice, let those buds which have grown (say) + of 
an inch be cut clean across by a pair of scissors, or 
