THE KANSAS PEACH. 21 



through, still, in view of the doubled profits, should a crop be re- 

 alized in three years or so, the slight extra cost ( as inexpensive as 

 standard peach trees now are) is well worth taking — on good land. 

 On poor land this method will not do, as the fruit would be under- 

 sized. 



Of course, when the trees begin to crowd each other in the row the 

 alternate trees must come out, whether a crop has been secured or 

 not ; but this seldom proves to be the case, and one good crop, at 

 least, is usually obtained before the trees have to be thinned out. 



XI — BUDDING. 



While every exi^erienced grower is of course thoroughly familiar 

 with this operation, we have found at the station that so many inquir- 

 ers wish to be informed of all the details attending it, that it may not 

 be out of place to insert here a few simple directions. This method. 

 of propagating the peach has altogether superseded grafting. 



Budding may be done at two seasons — in the early summer, or in 

 the early fall or late summer. When done early in the season it is al- 

 ways with the intention of forcing immediate growth, thus producing 

 what are known commercially as "June budded" trees. When done 

 in August or September the bud remains dormant through the follow- 

 ing winter and does not commence growth until the next season. Of 

 late years June buds have been growing steadily in favor with the 

 fruit-growing public — as it becomes more and more convinced that, 

 small trees, of any variety of fruit, are always preferable to large ones 

 for planting. While budding in either instance must be done with 

 wood of the current sea.son's growth, such wood is quite often imma- 

 ture in the early summer, and consequently many June buds fail to 

 live in the hands of inexperienced operators. Tliis has probably been 

 the cause of the slow progress June budding has made in the past 

 with the public. In either case the operation is the same, excepting 

 that in June-budded trees, after buds have "taken," the top growth 

 of the stock is cut otf in order to stimulate the growth of the bud. 



The process itself is a simple one. A twig of the present year's 

 growth, having leaf- buds well developed, is cut to a convenient length 

 — from six to twelve inches, according to circumstances — and the 

 leaves trimmed off, leaving only a short portion of the stem or petiole 

 by which the bud is to be handled. Budding sticks should never 

 be cut until the day they are to be used. In preparing the bud, 

 the knife should be inserted under the bark about a quarter of an inch 

 below the bud, turning the blade nearly flat with the stock, and a clean, 

 upward cut made just under the bark to a point about a quarter of an 

 inch beyond the upper portion of the bud. This leaves a small, oval 

 disk attached to the budding stick by the bark at the upper end. 



