Budding. 201 



be rapidly performed ; but to go over a full-grown apple or pear tree 

 in this way is a slow and rather tedious labor ; still, where the cul- 

 tivation has not been neglected in other respects, such thinning, in most 

 cases, will ;pay^ inasmuch as, properly done, it never fails to secure a 

 fair crop of first quality, instead of a little larger quantity of very in- 

 ferior fruit. But the effect of the operation on the future health and 

 vigor of trees is of much more importance than any such improvement 

 of their pi'oducts ; lor a tree that has once " borne itself to death," — 

 as the phrase forcibly expresses it, — very rarely, and only after a num- 

 ber of years, if ever, recovers from the consequences of its exhausted 

 vitality. 



This thinning process may be extended down, with the same ad- 

 vantages, among the smaller fruits, or even transferred, with marked 

 favorable results, to flower borders and kitchen gardens ; but land is 

 too cheap and labor too dear in this country for such imitations of the 

 pi'actices of French and English gardeners. Those who are curious 

 for further information on this subject, will find nearly all they desire 

 to learn, in a long extract from a distinguished foreign horticultural 

 v^riter, on page iSi, in the September (1870) number of this Journal. 



BUDDING. 



The season for this operation, one of the most important in the prop- 

 agation of trees, whether by the amateur who amuses himself with 

 raising a few dozen for his own use, or by the nurseryman who grows 

 them by the million, commences before the end of this month. We do 

 not propose to give an exhaustive article on the subject, but only a few 

 hints on some important points which are apt to be overlooked, espe- 

 cially by beginners. 



The first trees to be budded are those which finish their growth ear- 

 liest ; and, in our experience, dwarf apple stocks have required atten- 

 tion before any others. Newly planted stocks will grow later than those 

 which have stood a year or two, and consequently may be budded later. 

 When the sap is flowing very freely, the bud is liable to be " drowned 

 out," as it is termed, and budding must then be deferred until the 

 growth is checked and the sap thickened. This is particularly the case 

 with cherries, which, if budded when at the height of their growth, will 

 fail in ninety-ninecases out of a hundred ; while if postponed until a few 



