THE AVOCADO 47 



that the cut surface will be flat and not rounded at the ends. 

 Buds which are gouged out do not fit snugly on the stock. It 

 is well to cut the buds somewhat larger than citrus buds, 1 

 inch being the minimum length, and 1^ inches the ideal for 

 most varieties. This must vary, of course, with the size of the 

 stock and budwood, large stocks sometimes taking a bud 2 

 inches long. 



Opinions differ as to the best material for wrapping, some 

 preferring waxed cloth, while others have found plain cloth 

 tape equally good, and still others use raffia successfully. 

 Waxed cloth is doubtless the safest, but the objection to it 

 has been that in hot weather the wax melts and works its 

 way into the bud, sometimes killing it. This can be avoided 

 by using a compound of 1 pound beeswax and -J- pound rosin. 

 The cloth, preferably a cheap grade of bleached muslin, should 

 be torn in strips 6 inches wide, made into rolls 1 inch in di- 

 ameter, and boiled for fifteen minutes in this mixture. It may 

 then be kept until needed, when it is torn into narrow strips of 

 the proper width and length for tying buds. 



Three weeks after insertion the buds should have united with 

 the stock, and the wraps must be loosened or they will soon bind 

 the stock, if growth is active. They should not be removed 

 until the end of six weeks or two months. In order to force 

 the bud into growth, the tree should be topped at the time the 

 wrap is first loosened, 3 or 4 inches being removed from the tip. 

 The axillary buds along the stem will then break into growth ; 

 some of these should be allowed to develop for a while, to keep 

 up an active flow of sap. In another four or five weeks the top 

 should be cut back farther, but a few axillary buds still left 

 on the seedling to grow and maintain the flow of sap. If the 

 stock is cut back too heavily the first time, the eye may fall 

 from the bud, leaving a blind shield. Lopping, as practiced 

 with many other fruits, is not altogether successful with the 

 avocado. 



