20 



THE NURSERY AND THE ORCHARD. 



BUDDING. 



Budding is the process of producing a tree from a single 

 bud which will bear fruit like that of the tree from which 

 the bud is taken. It is performed during the season of 

 growth — from June till October, according to the climate 

 and the habits of the tree. Young stocks are usually- 

 budded during the summer after planting, at any time 

 when the bark of the stock can be raised easily, and the 

 buds of the variety it is desired to propagate are suffi- 

 ciently matured, which is usually determined by the 

 perfect formation of the bud on the end of the shoot. An 

 excellent time for budding is soon after a rain when the 

 trees are growing vigorously. The only implements 

 necessary are a knife for trimming up the stocks, and a 

 budding knife with a thin sharp blade (^fig. 6), for mak- 



Fig. 6. 



ing the incision in the bark and cutting ofif the bud. 

 Some budding knives have an ivory handle, very thin at 

 the end, which is used to raise the bark of the stock for 



the insertion of the bud. To obtain buds, shoots of the 

 present year's growth are taken from trees of the variety 

 it is desired to propagate, and the leaves all cut away. 



