TIIK .XTKSKKY IMMSTUY i \ XKW YORK (ir>7 



AF I' K K-.M A. \A<;K. \IK.\T 



After the little seedlings are planted and tinned, the first tiling- 

 is to cultivate them. In many nurseries a one-horse cultivator is 

 preferred; it is run twice through each row- uj) one side and 

 down the other side of each row of stock. In others, two-horse 

 cultivators are used. Constant horse-cultivation is given, with a 

 hand-hoeing whenever necessary. I'snally the attempt is made to 

 ii<> through with but one hoeing before budding. If the stock has 

 favoiahle conditions and starts (jnickly, it is ready to bud any 

 time after the middle of July. Where a considerable acreage is 

 to be gone over, it is well to begin at about this date probably 

 with apples or pears, finishing these in time to do the cherries in 

 August and finish the peaches the early part of September. 



Two systems are employed in budding ; in one a man sits down 

 on a sack and pushes the bud upward, while in the other he 

 stands and bends over and pushes the bud down. I think for 

 apples and pears it makes little difference which is used, but in 

 cherry-growing regions the pushing of the bud upward seems to 

 be preferred. The buds are tied with raffia, and usually in about 

 three weeks' time the union is secured and strings are cut. In 

 the following spring the top is cut off the seedling just above the 

 bud, and the bud starts into growth and forms the trunk of the 

 new tree. When this is one year old that is, when it has 

 grown from April to fall it may be sold as a one-year bud, or 

 it may be grown another year and sold as a two-year bud. 



The roots of a two-year bud and of a three-year collar graft 

 are the same age. In many instances the graft will make a 

 larger tree than the bud, and it is often practiced because it 

 divides the work, getting a certain amount of it done in winter. 

 The work of Professor Stewart at the Pennsylvania State College 

 indicates that there is no difference in value in the orchard 

 between a bud and a graft. There is, however, a tendency on 

 the part of purchasers to prefer a budded tree. The writer is 

 practicing budding to a greater extent, because one has more con- 

 trol over the propagation in that the buds can be cut and given 

 out to the budders, one variety at a time, and if any are mislaid 

 they rapidly dry out and are of no further use; whereas the 



