222 Principles of Plant Culture. 



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 the ground. 



FIG. 123. A lesson in budding. The left-hand student is cutting a bud; 

 the central one is lifting the lips of the bark with the spatula of his bud- 

 ding knife; the right-hand student is tying the bud. 



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 stock. The blade 

 is passed just behind the bud, touching the wood, bat 

 not removing much of it, and then turned a little, run- 

 ning out about a fourth of an inch above the bud (Fig. 

 120, p. 220). Often the knife does not run out, but the 

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

 bud, as indicated in Fig. 119. 



With the spatula of the budding knife (397), the lips 

 of bark in the angles of the T-cut are loosened from the 



