HOME PROPAGATION OF PEACH TREES 



1537 



planted except upon light, warm, well- 

 drained, rich soil, in a high state of cul- 

 tivation. 



Time to Bud 



The budding season may extend, ac- 

 cording to the locality and weather, 

 from the first of August to the first 

 of September, and continues until per- 

 haps the latter part of September. 

 Whether the stocks are ready for bud- 

 ding or not must be determined by in- 

 spection of the stocks themselves and 

 not by reference to the calendar or con- 

 sulting the moon. The trees should be 

 grown to tlie size of a lead-pencil or 

 larger and be in a vigorous state of 

 growth. The bark near the base of the 

 stock should peel up easily when cut, 

 as the bark peels from a willow at 

 whistle-making time. The easy slipping 

 of the bark is the critical test. 



Budding Tools 

 The propagator now supplies himself 

 with a suitable budding knife, with some 

 strips of raffia and with scions in the 

 form of budding sticks cut from reliable 

 fruiting peach trees of the variety which 

 he wishes to reproduce. Usually he takes 

 with him a healthy boy with freckles on 

 his nose. The boy will take care of the 

 rough work and help him in other ways. 



The Budding Process 



The boy with the freckled nose goes 

 ahead and rubs the branches off from 

 the stocks for a space of six or eight 

 inches above the ground. This work 

 should not be done much in advance of 

 the man who is setting the buds, as it 

 will cause the bark to "set." The budder 

 carries his budding sticks in a moistened 

 sack over his back, which serves the 

 double purpose of keeping the scions 

 moist and cooling the budder's back 

 against the blazing heat of the August 

 sun. It really becomes something of a 

 chore to creep along the ground for ten 

 hours a day during August with one's 

 back turned directly toward the sun. 

 Each budding stick is a shoot of the cur- 

 rent year's growth, usually from 12 to 

 18 inches in length and having at the 

 base the diameter of a very small lead 



pencil. From this the blades of the leaves 

 are clipped immediately when the stick 

 is taken from the parent tree. The 

 petioles or stems of the leaves are left to 

 serve a very useful purpose in setting 

 the buds. 



The budder kneels or sits beside the 

 row of stocks and begins his work by 

 cutting a T-shaped incision through the 

 bark of the stock, preferably on the 

 shady north side and as near the surface 

 of the ground as he can conveniently 

 work. If the stock is in proper condi- 

 tion the two lips of this incision peel up 

 smoothly from the wood beneath, so as 

 to allow the easy insertion of the bud. 

 The propagator then cuts a single bud 

 from his budding stick. This little bud 

 has attached to it a shield-shaped portion 

 of bark and the stem or petiole of the 

 leaf. The shield is slipped down into 

 the T-shaped opening made upon the 

 stock and the budder slides along to the 

 next tree, leaving the work to be fin- 

 ished by the boy already mentioned, who 

 follows after and ties in the bud securely 

 with a strip of raffia. 



These ties must be examined from time 

 to time and should be removed as soon 

 as the buds "take." This will usually 

 be in one or two weeks. If the ties are 

 not removed within a month they will 

 begin to choke the stocks, which con- 

 tinue to expand in diameter rapidly at 

 this season. The tie is cut by running 

 a sharp knife up the stock on the side 

 opposite the bud. 



Tliese buds should grow fast to the 

 stocks within from two to four weeks 

 after being set, but under proper condi- 

 tions will remain dormant through the 

 first winter. They should start into vig- 

 orous growth the following spring. As 

 soon as their growth is assured the stocks 

 should be smoothly cut off about an inch 

 above the inserted bud. Care is required 

 throughout the year to protect the bud 

 from the encroachments of the stock. 

 "Very often suckers start and, unless they 

 are rubbed off, quickly choke out the 

 engrafted bud. This work requires an 

 inspection of the entire field with con- 

 siderable care from two to four times 



.'f— 14 



