PEACH AND THE PEAR. 4I 



incision through the bark, slits it up slightly, and deftly 

 inserts the bud as near the ground as possible, and not 

 over four inches above it, at most. The boy ahead has 

 previously stripped the tree, to this point, of buds and 

 leaves, and the boy behind ties the bud in with a bass- 

 wood tie, which may now be found on sale ready-made, 

 having formerly to be pulled from old mats. The best 

 tie is a figure-of-eight, knotted around the bud. These 

 trees having been budded in June are left until the buds 

 are seen to have taken, say ten to twenty days, when 

 the ties are cut on those that have taken, and those 

 which have not taken can be marked and budded over, 

 but probably might just as well be pulled up. Very soon 

 now the tops must be cut away just above the new bud, 

 all buds be kept rubbed off of the parent stock below 

 the bud, and the young tree may be set out the next fall 

 or spring in the permanent orchard. Later budding in 

 August or September does not differ much from the 

 June budding, save that the tops are not cut off until 

 the next spring, after the sap has just begun to flow. 

 Then the old stock is kept rubbed free from buds 

 below the new bud. Very little, if any pruning, is 

 needed by the young trees, and the coming fall or spring 

 they are fit to set in the orchard — two years from the 

 seed and one year from the bud being apparently the 

 proper age, although I know some of the most intelli- 

 gent and successful growers who prefer the June-budded 



