90 GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 



2d. The bark must raise freely from the stocks to be bud- 

 ded. This only happens when the stocks are in a thrifty 

 and growing state. Trees that accomplish most of their 

 growth early in the season, must be watched and budded 

 before they cease to grow ; those that grow very late must 

 not be budded early, or the formation of new wood will 

 surround and cover the buds ; in gardener's language, 

 they will be " drowned by the sap." 



The implements needed are a pruning-knife, to dress 

 the stocks by removing any branches that may be in the 

 way of inserting the bud; and a budding knife, to take 

 off the buds and make the incisions in the stock. The 

 latter should have a very thin, smooth, and keen edge. 



Strings for tying in the buds are either taken from bass 

 mats, or they are prepared from the bark of the basswood. 

 "We always prepare our own ; we send to the woods and 

 strip the bark off the trees in June ; we then put it in 

 water from two to three weeks, according to the age of 

 the bark, until the fibrous, paper-like inner bark can be 

 easily separated from the outer, when it is torn into strips, 

 dried, and put away for use. 



Cutting and Preparing the Buds. Young shoots, in 

 the condition described, are cut below the lowest plump 

 bud ; an inch or two of the base of every shoot, where 

 the buds are very close together, and quite small, should 

 be left. The leaves are then stripped off, leaving half of 

 each leaf-stalk to handle the bud by, as in fig. 63. 



Preserving the JBucZs. When a considerable quantity is 

 cut at once, they should be stripped of the leaves and 

 wrapped in a damp cloth as soon as cut ; and they may be 

 preserved in good order for ten days, by keeping them 

 in a cool cellar among damp sawdust, or closely en- 

 veloped in damp cloths, matting, or moss. We often 

 send buds a week's journey, packed in moss slightly 

 moistened ; the leaves being off, the evaporation is trifling, 



