68 THE NURSERY-BOOK. 



is largely employed upon nearly all young fruit-trees, and almost 

 universally so upon the stone-fruits. It is also used in roses, 

 and many ornamental trees. Budding is commonly performed 

 during the growing season, usually in late summer or early fall, 

 because mature buds can be procured at that time and young 

 stocks are then large enough to be worked readily. But bud- 

 ding can be done in early spring, just as soon as the bark 

 loosens ; in this case perfectly dormant buds must have been 

 taken in winter. Budding is always best performed when the 

 bark slips or peels easily. It can be done when the bark is 

 tight, but the operation is then tedious and uncertain. 



SHIELD-BUDDING. There is but one style of budding in gen- 

 eral use in this country. This is known as shield-budding, from 

 the shield-like shape of the portion of bark which is removed 

 with the bud. Technically, the entire severed portion, com- 

 prising both bark and bud, is called a " bud." A shield bud is 

 shown natural size in Fig. 61. This is cut from a young twig 

 of the present season's growth. It is inserted underneath the 

 bark of a young stock or branch, and is then securely tied, as 

 shown in Fig. 65. 



The minor details of shield-budding differ with nearly every 

 operator. In commercial practice, it is performed in the north 

 from early July until the middle of September. In the south- 

 ern states it usually begins in June. As a rule, apples and pears 

 are budded before peaches. This is due to the fact that peach- 

 stocks are nearly always budded the same season the 

 pits are planted, and the operation must be delayed 

 until the stocks are large enough to be worked. 

 Most other fruit-stocks, especially apples and pears, 

 are not budded until two years after the seeds are 

 sown. The plants grow for the first season in a 

 seed-bed. The next spring they are transplanted 

 into nursery rows, and budded when they become 

 Fig. 61. large enough, which is usually the same year they 

 Shield-bud. are transplanted. The nurseryman reckons the 

 age of his stock from the time of transplanting, and the age 

 of the marketable tree from the time when the buds or grafts 



