In choosing the scion we must first have regard to the general charac- 

 ter of the tree and choose scion buds from a tree which has desirable 

 qualities. The best buds can be had from young trees and, as the tree 

 grows oldj fewer buda are generally found. Buds from older trees do not 

 make good plants. In choosing the actual branch from which to cut the 

 buds we must look for the characters similar to those of the stock, namely, 

 dark green colour of the bark with whitish gray lines, full flow of sap, and 

 also roundness of the bud- wood and plumpness of the buds. If the scion 

 plant is not in condition, it can be readily brought into it by the same 

 method as that employed for the stock. It is also desirable in such a case 

 to trim the branches of their youngest growth. This induces swelling of 

 the buda Buds from the current season's growth should not be selected 

 for insertion as the wood is genera 1 ly angled ; a bud taken from angled wood 

 does not fit snugly on the round wood of the stock. The bud wood should 

 be as thick as the stock plant. It should not be selected from a water 

 shoot even though it is round. This wood is not sufficiently old and ripe 

 for using as a scion. It is generally thorny, the buds do not come off 

 easily, and as a rule do not gernvnate at all. In selecting the bud the 

 lowest and the topiaost ones are generally useless. The topmost bud looks 

 plump no doubt, but does not make a good plant. The lowest one is 

 generaUy dormant and does not germinate. For this reason there is such 

 a low percentage of success in inserting the lowermost thornless bud of the 

 Kagdi Limbu. 



If bud-wood is not available within a short distance or bud-wood of 

 some reputed varieties is to be obtained from a long distance, suitable 

 pieces of bud- wood (from which the leaves have been removed with the 

 knife ) having all th& characters described above may be packed in sawdust. 

 The sawdust should first be thoroughly soaked in water and then squeezed 

 between the palms so as to remove all the free water from it. The moist 

 sawdust should be spread on a piece of oil-paper, the bud -wood placed on 

 it and covered with moie moist sawdust. Care should be taken to see that 

 the bud wood. has a good layer of moist sawdust on all sides. The oil paper 

 should then be rolled round the saw dust and bud-wood iu it. The paper 

 should again be wrapped in a piece of rubber or oil cloth (coated side facing 

 inwards;. The whole thing may again be wrapped iu ordinary cloth or put 

 in a tin box and may be sent by post as an ordinary parcel. We have seen 

 that bud-wooi BO packed can remain in good condition for at least three 

 weeks and stand a journey by post 



Each bud from the bud-wood is cut off by splitting the bark in a 

 rectangle around the bud half an inch above and Delow the bud and one 

 third of an inch to each side of the bud. It is then eased off and kept moist 

 till insertion in the stock. The bud should be inserted in the stock about six 

 inches from the ground. If the bud is inserted at a higher level than six 

 inches the plant does not make good growth. We have seen that ordinary 

 pLmts of three years' old had grown to a height of more than six feet but 

 the plant budded at a higher level under . otherwise similar conditions had 

 hardly made a growth of two feet. The cut for the bud is simply two 

 cuts in the form of a ' T ' and the bark eased back to allow of the insertion 

 of the bud. Both cuts should go only through the bark and in no case 

 should they injure the wood inside ; otherwise gum comes out of the wood 

 and forms a thin partition between the cambium of the stock and that of 

 the ecion which, therefore, do not unite. Another method of easing the 

 bark is to take only one vertical cut slightly longer than the bud itself and 

 bend the stock over towards the cut, the bark 13 readily eased back and the 



B 508 4 



