74 



THE NURSERY-BOOK. 



i ,' r 



Fig. 66. Cutting off the stock. 



whole top should not be cut off at once, else the growing plant 

 will receive a too severe check. It is best to bend the top over 

 to check its growth or remove the 

 leaves gradually. The bandages 

 should not be left on longer than 

 six to ten days if the stock is 

 growing rapidly. To prevent the 

 constriction of the stem, muslin 

 bands are sometimes used instead 

 of bass or raffia. In hot and dry 

 climates the bud should be set an 

 inch or two higher in June bud- 

 ding than in the ordinary practice, 

 to escape the great heat of the 

 soil. June budding is used upon 

 the peach more than any other 

 tree, although it can be employed 

 for any species which will give 

 large enough stocks from seed by 

 the June following the sowing In peaches, the bud will pro- 

 duce a shoot from three to five feet high the same season the 

 buds are set, so that marketable budded trees can be produced in 

 one season from the seed. 



A different kind of early summer budding is sometimes per- 

 formed upon apples and other fruit-trees. In this case the 

 stocks are one or two years old from the transplanting, and dor- 

 mant buds are used. These buds are cut the previous fall or 

 winter in the same manner as cions, and when spring approaches 

 they are put on ice in sawdust, sand or moss and kept until 

 the stocks are large enough to receive them. The particular ad- 

 vantage of this method is the distributing of the labor of budd- 

 ing over a longer season, thereby avoiding the rush which often 

 occurs at the regular budding time. 



Budders usually carry a number of "sticks" with them when 

 they enter the nursery. These may be carried in the pocket, or 

 thrust into the boot-leg ; or some budders carry four or five sticks 

 in the hand. The budder follows a row throughout its length, 

 passing over those trees which are too small to work. It is a 



