16 THK PROPAOATION OP FRUIT TREES. 



whole complete with the ligature tied around. Care should be 

 had, ia raising the hark of the stock, to avoid disturbing the 

 cambium, the soft, mucilaginous secretion lying next to the wood 

 of the stock. 



The After Treatment of the bud consists in 

 removing the ligature as soon as it begins to bind 

 too tightly around the stock. In from twelve to 

 fourteen days the bud should be examined, and if it 

 appears plump and fresh it has probably begun to 

 unite with the stock, but if it has shrivelled it ia 

 dead. If the stock will yet peel, it may be rebud- 

 ded at once. If the stock has swelled much, so a» 

 Fio. 14 to tighten the ligature, it may be loosened and re-tied, 

 but, in common practice, where budding is done on an extended 

 scale, the ligature is cut when the growth of the stock is such 

 that the bark swells around the ligature. A little practice wiU 

 enable the operator to decide when it is necessary to remove the 

 string. Usually it is in about four weeks from the time the bud 

 is put in, but the time will vary according to growth of the 

 stock. Cherry and peach stocks usually swell more rapidly than 

 apple or pear. Sometimes the strings are left on all winter, par- 

 ticularly if the budding has been done late in the season ; but ia 

 our climate this practice is not to be recommended ; the band 

 retains moisture, and in cold weather gathers ice about the bud. 



In the following spring the stock should be headed back to 

 within about three inches of the bud as soon as the buds begin 

 to start. This will cause all the buds remaining on the stock to 

 push vigorously, and as soon as the inserted bud begins to grow 

 all the natural buds must be rubbed off, and kept rubbed off 

 from time to time, as often as they start. This is done so that 

 aU the sap may be thrown into the inserted bud, and its growth 

 promoted. As soon as it has grown a few inches in length it will 

 probably require tying to the stock, so as to keep it upright. In 

 doing this the string or band should not be wound around the 

 growing sJioot, but merely passed round it and tied around the 



