Plant Study 23 



layer of the stock. Peaches, cherries, oranges, and several 

 other fruits are propagated by budding. The method of grow- 

 ing and budding peach seedlings as given in the following para- 

 graphs will serve to explain the process. 



At the close of the ripening season peach pits are secured 

 and either stratified or planted at once. Seedling pits are 

 preferable, as trees grown from them are more hardy than those 

 from the pits of cultivated varieties. However, the latter 

 are often used. In stratifying pits, a well drained spot in the 

 garden or nursery is chosen, the soil removed to a depth of 

 five or six inches, and a layer of pits about an inch or so thick 

 spread over the bottom of the bed. The layer of pits is then 

 covered with a layer of soil about an inch or so thick and a second 

 layer of pits is spread above this and covered with soil. If 

 conditions are favorable during the winter, the pits will keep 

 moist and the frost will break the shells at the suture. In the 

 spring the pits are dug up and the kernels separated from the 

 shells. Any pits that have not opened are cracked and the 

 pits removed. As soon as the ground is dry enough to work, 

 the kernels are planted in rich well drained soil in rows four 

 feet apart with the pits spaced two or three inches apart in the 

 row and they are covered with about three inches of soil. Dur- 

 ing the growing season the young plants are cultivated fre- 

 quently and some time in the summer they are thinned to stand 

 about six inches apart in the row. By August they are about 

 half an inch in diameter at the base and are then ready for 

 budding. 



If the pits are not to be stratified, they are planted during 

 the fall in the nursery or garden where they will grow, but they 

 are dropped about an inch apart. The frost will open some of 

 them, but not all, and the thicker planting is made to insure 

 a good stand. In the spring the plants that grow are thinned 

 to stand about two or three inches apart in a row and in the 

 summer they are thinned to stand about six inches apart. 



Preparatory to budding the seedlings, bud-sticks are cut from 



