42 



THE APPLE CULTURIST. 



Fig. 26. 



Fig. 27. 



Fig. 28. 



in the diagram. Then a bud can be cut off with far greater 

 precision than if no stick were employed. Never attempt 

 to cut off a bud with a dull knife. Let the blade be ground 

 to an edge ; then whet it on a fine-gritted oil- 

 stone, so that the cut can be made true and 

 smooth. If a bud be haggled off with a dull 

 knife, and the surface is not straight and even, 

 the union will be quite uncertain. When cut- 

 ting off a bud, employ a drawing cut of the knife. 

 Cions for Budding. Always select the terminal 

 shoots for budding. Then, as soon as the shoot 

 is cut from the tree, let every leaf be cut off, as 

 represented by the figure, as the leaves rapidly 

 exhaust the liquid 

 in the bud when its 

 connection is sepa- 

 rated from the root, 

 and thus impair vi- 

 tality. The buds of 

 the upright shoots 

 of a tree are said to 

 make more vigorous 

 Acionfor growth than buds 

 aiug ' from lateral shoots; 

 and buds from bearing trees 

 are said to form fruit sooner 

 than buds from young trees. 



A good Budding-knife is all- 

 important, as one can not use a 

 large pruning-knife for remov- 

 ing the buds advantageously. 

 A knife with a thin blade, round- 

 ed at the point, will be found 



A pair of budding-knives. 



most convenient. The most important consideration is, to 



