76 THE DIFFERENT BUDDING OPERATIONS 



fruits, the buds containing flowers are so characteristic 

 that no one would be likely to make a mistake. The two 

 sexes in the fruit buds are usually separate. The pollen 

 appearing in catkins on the older wood while the pistilate 

 flowers develop on the terminal branches of the current 

 year's growth. These peculiarties of the flowers would 

 make it impossible to secure anything but leaf buds for 

 propagation work. 



Collecting Bud Sticks. In selecting buds for nursery 

 work the following points should be carefully kept in mind: 

 First, select only healthy wood from trees that have made 

 a good vigorous growth. Second, twigs from the upper 

 or outer portion of the tree usually have stronger and better 

 developed buds. Third, fruit buds are undesirable and 

 should be avoided. 



In collecting bud stick it is customary, where possible, 

 to cut only as fast as needed, because they deteriorate 

 rapidly when exposed. The collector goes to the tree 

 equipped with a wet sack, clips off the twigs with a long- 

 handled pruning shears, immediately cuts the leaves back 

 to within one-half inch of the stem, to prevent evapora- 

 tion and then rolls them in the wet sack. As soon as 

 enough are cut for the day's work, or as many as are desired, 

 they are tied in a bundle, labeled, rolled up again and 

 taken away for immediate use. 



Buds from Bearing Trees. Not all nurserymen select 

 their buds from bearing trees. In fact, very few do this 

 as a regular practice. The custom among the better com- 

 panies is to use buds from bearing trees every third year, 

 cutting from the previously budded nursery stock the other 



