CHAPTER IX 



BUDDING AND GRAFTING 



If the nursery ground has been well worked and the seed properly 

 handled, the growth of the seedling will be strong and rapid. If an 

 early start was had and other conditions favorable, some kinds will 

 be ready for budding in June, and the production of what are called 

 "June buds," will be described presently. In ordinary practice, 

 however, budding will come later, and the budding season extends 

 from July to October. The weight of the budding of deciduous trees 

 is generally done in August and September. 



BUDDING 



The process of budding, as employed on all the common fruit 

 trees, is very simple. It consists in lifting the bark and inserting a 

 bud from another tree in such a way that the inner bark of the bud 

 shall come in contact with the layer of growing wood in the stock, 

 and then it will be quickly knit to it by the new cell-growth if the 

 bark is closed around the inserted bud closely enough to prevent the 

 air from drying the two surfaces at the point of contact. In the 

 engraving 1 is the cutting or "bud stick" from the tree of the kind 

 into which it is desired to transform the seedling. This cutting is 

 usually made from the growth of the present season, which has well- 

 formed buds at the axils of the leaves, although in some cases, older 

 dormant buds may be used, as will appear in the discussion of the 

 different fruits. If buds are desired to mature early, pinch off the 

 ends of the growing shoots from which they are to be taken. Suck- 

 ers and so-called "water-sprouts" should not be used, but rather 

 well-formed wood from the branches of the tree. It is requisite that 

 the buds be taken from a vigorous healthy tree of the variety de- 

 sired. But sticks can be carried or sent considerable distances if 

 packed in damp moss or other material to prevent drying, but care 

 must be taken not to enclose too much water or decay will be pro- 

 moted. Fresh shoots in tight tin boxes without wet packing are 

 safer and carry very long distances. Sealing the ends with grafting 

 wax is also a good precaution against drying out. 



Budding knives can be bought at all seed stores and cutlery estab- 

 lishments. They have a thin, round-ended blade at one end of the 

 handle, and at the other end the bone is thinned down, or a bone 

 blade inserted. The former is for cutting and the latter for lifting 

 the bark of the stock into which the bud is to be placed. Armed 

 with a bud stick and such a knife, the "budder" starts in upon a 

 row of seedlings. Bending the seedling over a little and holding it 

 between his left arm and his left leg, he reaches down for a smooth 

 place on the bark as near the ground as convenient to work, and 

 makes vertical and horizontal cuts as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 in the 

 engraving, with the bark slightly lifted and ready for the insertion 



