26 BOOK OF FRUITS. 



success, applying in every case the composi- 

 tion in preference to the clay, 

 BUDDING, &c. 



Inoculation or budding, is commonly prac- 

 tised upon stone fruits, such as peaches, cher- 

 ries, plums, &:c., and we think it preferable to 

 grafting for nearly all kinds of fruit. 



The object in budding is the same as in 

 grafting, and depends on the same principle ; 

 all the difference between a bud and a scion 

 being, that a bud is a shoot or scion in embryo. 

 When grafting has been omitted, or has failed 

 in Spring, budding comes in as an auxiliary 

 in Summer. The season for budding is from 

 the beginning of July to the middle of Au- 

 gust, the criterion being the formation of buds 

 in the axillae of the leaf of the present year. 

 The best buds are those on the middle of a 

 young shoot, not those at the lower end ; stocks 

 for budding may in general be much smaller 

 than for grafting, as the operation may be per- 

 formed on the same year's shoot. The French 

 enumerate twenty-three varieties of budding; 

 but the variety in general use with us is the 

 following, called shield or T budding. It is 

 thus performed : Select a smooth part of the 

 stock, rather from, than towards, the 



