Budding. 203 



the bud. Then wind one end smoothly and neatly round, proceeding 

 upwards till the horizontal cut is covered ; then go back and cov^er the 

 rest of the perpendicular cut, finishing at the bottom. It is of the high- 

 est importance to tie in the bud closely so as to exclude the air, and this 

 can best be effected by tying as above described. It is a common but 

 erroneous impression that the " budding," that is, inserting the bud, is 

 much more important than the " tying ; " but however well a bud is 

 inserted, it will per-'sh unless properly tied in, and it ought to be done 

 as carefully and neatly as a surgeon would bandage a limb. Do not use 

 too wide and thick strings. Beginners are much more apt to get their 

 strings too large than too small. 



For large stocks we have found an excellent plan to be to insert a 

 graft at the same time and in the same way as the bud, but the horizon- 

 tal cut should be on one side only of the perpendipular, so as to 

 resemble an inverted L. Take a well-ripened shoot with four or five 

 buds, and pare off" one side for about two inches, making it taper 

 smoothly and straightly to the end. Let there be a bud about midway 

 of the cut. If the bark is very thick, cut away a little of it in a slanting 

 direction above the lip to be opened. Then push down the graft under 

 the bark on one side of the cut only, which, as it is much stifter than a 

 bud, can easily be done. Tie closely with a strong string, and do not 

 mind bending the graft a little at the top of the cut in tying, if it 

 is necessary to bring it into place. In this way we have grafted 

 quince stocks an inch thick, which have the next summer made a shoot 

 three feet in length from every bud. Besides being more easily inserted, 

 the larger number of buds gives it a great advantage for a large stock, 

 and if the end should be accidentally broken oft', the bud below is as 

 good as any — in fact, it combines the advantages of grafting and 

 budding. 



If the bud '* takes," the portion of the leaf stalk left on will part and 

 fall oft' naturally, at the base, just as it does in autumn, but if the bud 

 dies, the whole will become dry and black, and the leaf stalk will adhere 

 to the bud. If the stock grows very fast, so that the bandages cut 

 deeply into the tree before the bud is united to the stock, they should 

 be loosened and re-tied ; but when the bud is firmly grown in, the whole 

 tie may be removed by a cut on the opposite side. This will com- 

 monly be in two or three weeks after budding. If the bark still peels, 

 any failures may then be mended, but a skilful workman, with good 

 stocks and buds, ought not to loose one out of a hundred. 



The heading down and after treatment must be left to a future 

 occasion. 



