BUDDING. 43 



ding-knife should be sharp, that it may cut through 

 the hard wood of the bud without splitting the fibre 

 of the wood or bark. 



Select buds from healthy and vigorous trees of 

 the variety to be propagated. They should not be 

 too old or they will be slow in starting, nor too 

 young lest they perish. The wood from which they 

 are taken should be nearly mature, between the 

 angular and the round. Select buds with well-de- 

 veloped eyes. It is sometimes the case that insects 

 have eaten out the eyes. It is useless to put in 

 such buds. In cutting the bud from the branch, do 

 not hold the blade of the knife at right angles with 

 the branch, as in such a position it is likely to slip 

 in and out, following the grain of the wood, and so 

 giving an uneven surface to the face of the bud. 

 The face of the bud should be so level and straight 

 that when it is pushed into its position the cut sur- 

 face will at all points touch the wood of the 

 stock and so exclude the air. To prevent this ir- 

 regularity of surface, hold the blade of the knife 

 firmly in the hand and almost parallel with the 

 branch from which the bud is being cut. In cut- 

 ting, draw the knife to you, as the cut will be 

 smoother by this method than if the bud were sev- 

 ered from the branch by simply pressing the blade 

 through the wood. The knife should be inserted 

 half an inch above the bud and come out a half or 

 three quarters of an inch below. It is better to 

 insert the bud on the north side of the stock. The 



