BUDDING AND GRAFTING. 133 



allowed to get dry, nor should they stand in water too long. 

 Unless they were shriveled when received, damp moss or cloth is 

 the best material to keep them in. 



Shield Budding. — This is the method most practised in nurseries. 

 It is done from July to September, according to the kinds and 

 varieties of plants to be budded. There are many forms of bud- 

 ding ; such as budding with a cross-shaped incision for chestnuts or 

 other plants with large buds ; and inverted budding, when the sap 

 is in excess, as in the maple. 



Veneer Shield Budding. — This method is sometimes employed 

 when the sap does not flow freely enough to allow putting the bud 

 under the bark. It consists of an oblong, four-sided strip of 

 bark, marked with four cuts, leaving the eye or bud in the centre. 

 This strip of bark is lifted with the budding knife, and removed 

 with the bud from the scion. A corresponding strip is taken from 

 the stock, and the prepared bud is fitted into its place, and treated 

 the same as any bud. 



In many places, especially in Holland, double budding is prac- 

 tised on roses ; that is, two buds are inserted opposite each other 

 in the same stock. There are various other methods of budding 

 used, but the common shield budding I have described answers 

 all purposes, and is almost universally practised. In preparing 

 the bud, take the shoot in your left hand ; then at about a half- 

 inch above the bud, cut through the bark and a little into the wood 

 back of the bud, and the same a half inch below it ; next make a 

 horizontal incision in the stock first, and from this make another 

 incision downwards, about an inch long ; lift up the edge of the 

 bark by passing the blade up to the horizontal position, at the 

 same time holding the bud by the leafstalk ; slip it into the incision 

 as quickly as possible, so that the bud shall not become dried. If 

 the upper part of the bud does not fit, it must be cut across so as 

 to allow the bud to sit firmly on the stock. When the bud is fitted, 

 bind it with bass both above and below, leaving only the bud and 

 the leafstalk exposed. At the end of a week or ten days the 

 ligatures should be looked over to see that they are not strangling 

 the stock. If they are cutting into the stock they need to be 

 loosened only, as it is not always safe to take them away entirely. 

 Budded stocks are usually headed down to about six inches above 

 the bud the following spring. As soon as the buds begin to grow. 



