662 



GEAFTAGE 



changing the tree into a different variety. Sometimes 

 the buiis are inserted in limbs which are two and three 

 years old; but it is usually preferable, if the tree is of 

 some age, to cut back the tree somewhat heavily the 

 previous season or the previous spring, in order to get 

 a growth of suckers into which the l)uds may be set. 



■11.' Jn 



the stick is the tw!-x',li I'll i- rl■..^, n .Inin- ili:,i - a-on. 

 Not all the buds mi il.c ^iiri, ;,i,. ^t i ..n_- riMui^l, .,,■ ;.'i.f.d 

 enough for buddin;;. Tlir I. ml. I. r will \iMially di^curd 

 the weak ones at the top and at the bottom, unless he is 

 very much pressed for buds, as may be the case with 

 new or rare varieties. If the stick is taken late in the 

 season the leaves will be on; but these are quickly cut 

 off to prevent too much evaporation from the cutting. 

 About one-fourth of an inch of the leaf-stalk is left to 

 serve as a handle to the bud. 



The ordinary operation of budding is that which is 

 shown in the illustrations. It is known as shield-bud- 

 ding, from the shape of the removed bud. With a thin- 

 bladed, sharp knife, the operator slices off the bud by 

 placing his thumb beneath the bud and making a deft 

 and quick stroke of the blade. Just under the bud he 

 cuts a little into the wood. Some budders afterward re- 

 move this bit of wood; but this is not essential. If this 

 wood is somewhat hard and dry, or if it carries some 

 pith with it, it may serve to dry out the bud or to pre- 



moved. Most budders cut all the buds on a stick before 

 they insert any of them ; but they are allowed to hang to 

 the stick by their upper or lower ends, being snipped off 

 by the knife as fast as they are needed (Fig. 931). 



The stock is first prepared by removing all the leaves 

 and twigs from the area which is to be budded. In the 

 case of nursery stock, it is customary for a boy to strip 

 the lower leaves of the stock a day or so in advance of 



GEAFTAGE 



set the bud on the north side of the btock in order that 

 it may be shaded from the hot sun. 



A T-shaped incision, just through the bark, is made 

 on the stock (Fig. 932). The crosswise incision is usu- 

 ally made first. As the operator takes his 

 knife from the last incision which he 

 makes, he gives it a deft turn to right and 

 left and loosens the flaps of the bark, so 

 that the bud can easily be inserted. The 

 bud is now taken from the stick and 

 shoved into the matrix underneath the 

 bark until it is entirely within the cleft 

 (Fig. 933). A boy follows and ties the bud. 

 making 4 or 5 deft turns and holding the 

 strand by covering the lower end under- 

 neath one of the turns ( Pig. 934) . No wax 

 or other covering is used. Any soft strand 

 may be used for this purpose. It was tin- 

 old custom to use basswood bark, which 

 was taken in the spring from the inner 

 layers of the bark of the basswood tree. 

 This material was then macerated in water 

 and afterwards pounded to make it soft. 

 Yam is also used. At the present tiuif^ 

 raffia is universally employed. This is th. 

 stripping of an oriental palm, and it can 

 be bought in the market at about 20 c< m^ 

 per pound, and at that price is cheaper 

 than home-made materials; it is also bet- 

 ter. It is customary to lay it on the ground 

 or in a damp place over night in order to 

 soften it and to allow the operator to flat- ij-iu. 



ten out the strands. This raffia is cut in Bark-graftine. 

 the length to suit before the tying is begun, 

 and the bunch of strands is then held underneath the 

 belt or carried in a box. For budding, the operator pre- 

 fers a .small, thin-bladed knife, with a rounded or 

 thumb-shaped cutting surface (Fig. 935). 



When budding is performed late in the season, the 

 bud does not throw out a shoot until the following 

 spring. It merely grows fast or "sticks "to the stock. 

 Two or three weeks after the setting of the bud, the 

 bandage is cut so that it will not restrict the swelling of 

 the stock. If the stock grows very rapidly, it may be 

 necessary to cut the bandage before that time. Nothing 



ch above 

 id makes 

 'ing root. 

 I- will at- 

 for mar- 



'■ spring 

 rdinarily 

 t the bud 



939. Cleft-graftine of an old 



the budding. If the stripping is done three or four days 

 or a week before the budding, it will sometimes cause 

 the bark to set and, therefore, interfere with the opera- 

 tion. Nursery trees are usually budded as near the ground 

 as the operator can work — not more than 2 or 3 inches 

 above the surface. In most cases, the budder prefers to 



Dunut; lio. i;i>l >. a...„ ..i t; i , , ! 

 tain the height of four to six f. - ' 

 . ket in the fall. If the bud i- 

 it will throw out a shoot the sai'n 



it would not make the growth ii -i 



does in the other case. Spring budding in tbe open air 

 is rarely employed in nursery practice. It is sometimes 

 used in the top-budding of established plants. In all 

 budding practices, it is important to keep down the 

 suckers from the stock. 



In the South a peach tree may be large enough in 

 June, if the seeds are planted in February or March, to 

 ^be budded. The bud will grow the same year, and by 

 fall will make a salable tree. This operation of budding 

 in early summer on stocks which grow that year is 

 known as June-budding. As a rule, June-budded trees 

 are smaller than fall-budded trees; but they can be ob- 

 tained one year sooner. 



There are many other kinds of budding. Some of 

 these will be found in American writings. None of 

 these other styles of budding, however, is of commer- 

 cial importance in this country. 



Grafting proper is the operation of inserting a twig 

 or a woody cion into a stock. The kinds of grafting are 

 very many. Few are described here. They may be clas- 

 sified in respect to the place or position of the cion on 

 the stock: root-grafting, or the insertion of the cion in 

 the root of the stock; crown-grafting, or the insertion 

 of the cion at the crown (surface of the ground) ; stem- 

 grafting, or the insertion of the cion in any part of the 

 main stem or trunk; top-grafting, or the insertion of 

 the cion in the top or branches of the plant. Grafting 

 may again be classified in respect t(» tlie maturity of the 

 cion: dormant wood grafting; and softwood or herba- 



