PROPAGATION BY BUDDING. 89 



of the roots will grow. Suckers, of any plants, that can 

 easily be propagated by cuttings or layers, should never 

 be used. 



Section 4. — Propagation by Budding. 



This operation is performed during the growing season, 

 and usually on young trees from one to five years old, 

 with a smooth, soft bark. It consists in separating a bud, 

 with a portion of bai'k attaclied, from a shoot of the cur- 

 rent season's growth of one tree, and inseiting it under 

 the bark of another. When this bud begins to grow, all 

 that part of the stock above it is cut away, the bud grows 

 on, and eventually forms a tree of the same variety aa 

 that from which it was taken. Buds may be inserted in 

 June, and make considerable growth the same season, aa 

 they do in the South, but, as a general tiling, this is not 

 desirable in the propagation of fruit trees. The ordinary 

 season in the Northern States is from the middle of July 

 until the middle of September, and the earliness or late- 

 ness at which a species is budded depends, other things 

 being equal, on the condition of its growth. 



Those accomplishing their growth early in the season 

 are budded early, and those that grow untii the autumn 

 are budded late. Thus the season extends over a period 

 exceeding two months. In all cases, the following condi- 

 tions are necessary : 



1st. The buds must be perfectly developed in the axils 

 of the leaves on the young shoots intended to bud from. 

 This is seldom the case until the shoot has temporarily 

 ceased to lengthen, as indicated by the perfect formation 

 of its terminal bud. 



If buds are wanted before this condition naturally ar- 

 rives, their maturity may be hastened very much by 

 pinching the tips of the shoots. In ten or twelve days 

 after the pinching of a very soft shoot, its buds are fit for 

 W^orking. 



