232 Principles of Plant Culture. 



bit of the leaf stem to serve as a handle while inserting 

 the buds. The stocks, whether grown from seeds or 

 from cuttings, are usually of one or two season 's growth. 

 The lower branches of the stock are cut off up to three 

 inches or more from the ground, and a smooth place is 

 selected for the bud, usually on the side least exposed 

 to the sun's rays. With the budding knife, a T-shaped 

 cut is made on the stock (393 c) about two inches above 



FIG. 123. A lesson in budding. The left-hand student is cut- 

 ting a bud; the central one is lifting the lips of the bark with the 

 spatula of his budding knife; the right-hand student is tying 

 the bud. 



the ground. A bud is then cut from the bud stick, by 

 inserting the blade of the budding-knife about a fourth 

 of an inch below the bud, at such an angle that the 

 back of the blade nearly touches the bark of the stick. 

 The blade is passed just behind the bud, touching the 

 wood, but not removing much of it, and then turned a 

 little, running out about a fourth of an inch above the 

 bud (Fig. 120). Often the knife does not run out, but 

 the bark is cut off square, a quarter of an inch abovf 

 the bud, as indicated in Fig. 119. 



