BUDDING THE PECAN 



1663 



to that given In Plate I, No. 6, is taken 

 from the bud stick. A corresponding 

 piece is removed from the stock and tlie 

 section from the bud stick carefully fitted 

 in its place. It is then tied with a strand 

 of dampened raffia, but this is used only 

 to keep the bud firmly in place; the top 

 and bottom of the section are left un- 

 covered, because there is a danger of the 

 raffia injuring the cut ends, which are 

 held tightly in place by narrow strips of 

 waxed cloth covering all but the bud. A 

 wrapping of paper is then given, as al- 

 ready described. The principal objection 

 to this method of budding is that the 

 sides of the bark are apt to rise some- 

 what during the growth of the stock. 

 This, while in no way injuring or retard- 

 ing the growth of the bud, does not have 

 a very neat appearance for some time 

 after the union is effected and may have 

 a tendency to weaken the point of union, 

 besides giving opportunities for harbor- 

 ing noxious insects. 



Starting Buds Into Growth 



It is desirable that the buds be started 

 into growth as soon as possible after it 

 has been ascertained that the union has 

 taken place. Buds which are united to 

 stocks having a large section of bark at- 

 tached are liable to have more or less of 

 the bark decay during the winter months. 

 This occurs principally with young buds, 

 especially when they are worked on one- 

 year-old wood. This would seem to be 

 common to all the species of the hickory 

 family, but where one-year-old buds are 

 used the danger is lessened considerably. 

 However, in the latter case they lose 

 their vigor in proportion to the time 

 they remain on the stock without being 

 encouraged to break. 



In order to force the bud into growth 

 it is necessary that the top of the seed- 

 ling stock be removed, leaving only one 

 or two healthy leaves at the base of the 

 present season's growth. In a few days 

 the buds in the axils of these leaves will 

 push out, and they should be removed as 

 soon as they can be handled, and on 

 down the stem the small dormant buds 

 formed in the axils of the loaves of the 



preceding season will burst into active 

 growth and must be rubbed off at once. 

 The practice of tying the growth of the 

 scion to the top of the stock is a good 

 one; it not only saves the soft growth 

 from being whipped about by the wind, 

 but it also secures a close, upright 

 growth. At the beginning of the second 

 season all of that part of the stock which 

 is above the union should be carefully 

 removed, not with a pair of pruning 

 shears, but with a sharp knife, so as to 

 leave a cleanly cut surface, with the bark 

 uninjured. The cut surface should be 

 covered with melted grafting wax to pre- 

 vent decay. 



Transplanting Bndded Trees 



The pecan is usually regarded as a 

 difficult subject to deal with in trans- 

 planting. A large percentage of the trees 

 die back after being placed in their per- 

 manent positions from nursery rows. 

 However, if certain precautions be ob- 

 served it will be found that there is no 

 ground for the supposed difficulty, as the 

 pecan will withstand the ordeal of trans- 

 planting in a young state quite as well as 

 any other forest tree. In transplanting 

 the pecan its requirements must be care- 

 fully considered. In a young state it is 

 a very deep-rooting subject, and any at- 

 tempt to change its nature by coaxing 

 the roots to grow near the surface of the 

 soil will end disastrously. 



To insure the growth of the trees after 

 transplanting it is very necessary to 

 avoid excessive trimming of the branches 

 and roots. There must be at least one 

 healthy undisturbed shoot of the pre- 

 vious season left on the plant untouched, 

 because the large, plump axillary buds 

 near the tip of the shoot will come into 

 leaf with greater certainty and more 

 quickly than will older buds on cut-back 

 growths. Especially is this the case after 

 the tree has undergone removal, involv- 

 ing the tremendous disturbance of the 

 root system, which almost completely 

 robs the plant for the time being of its 

 water supply. Seedlings in nursery 

 rows with undisturbed roots, when trim- 

 med down to the small lateral buds on 



