132 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



necessary to keep up a moist atmosphere. As soon as the plants 

 begin to knit together, air can be given during the morning and 

 evening, and after a week or two the air can be kept on all day. 

 The time taken by the different varieties to unite varies from two 

 to four weeks. After the grafts have begun to unite, they should 

 be removed from the frames, but kept inside the greenhouse for a 

 month or more before being planted out or removed to their 

 winter quarters. My method has been, as soon as I am certain 

 the grafts are all right, to turn them out of the pots and trans- 

 plant them thickly in boxes. As soon as they are well established 

 they are put out of doors in a sheltered place to harden off. 

 When no double frames are at hand, I have found a bed of 

 sphagnum moss, three to four inches deep, a good substitute, laying 

 the plants on their side, and covering the base of the graft an 

 inch or two with damp — not wet — moss. This gives out a gentle 

 moisture, and the graft is not subject to sudden changes of 

 temperature, as it would be otherwise. All coniferous plants are 

 much more easily propagated by veneer grafting than by any 

 other method. Their treatment after grafting is similar to that of 

 other plants, except that they should not be headed in until the 

 second year. 



Budding. — This consists in taking a bud with a portion of bark 

 attached to it, from one tree, and inserting it in some portion of 

 another, or in the same tree. In order to do this, a longitudinal 

 incision is made through the bark of the stock, to the wood ; a 

 cross cut is then made at the upper end forming a letter T, into 

 which a bud, previously prepared, is inserted, either with or with- 

 out removing the inner wood from the bud. In budding, it is 

 necessary that the bark of the stock should part readily from the 

 wood without being torn. If the bud is inserted when the flow of 

 sap is abundant, it immediately comes in contact with the nourish- 

 ment it requires for its support. In budding, it is necessary to 

 have a budding knife to prepare the buds, and for opening the 

 bark to admit them ; also tying material to hold the buds in place 

 after they are set. In selecting the buds, the young shoots of the 

 previous year's growth are the best — neither too gross nor too 

 weak. The best buds are those about the centre of a stem or 

 shoot. As soon as the scions are cut, the leaf blades should be 

 removed, leaving a small portion of the leafstalk attached to it 

 which facilitates the handling of the bud. Buds should never be 



