PROPAGATION BY BUDDING, GRAFTING, ETC. 



23 



common shield budding, only in leaving a small piece of wood at base 

 of the bud inserted, instead of taking all out. An incision is made 

 lengthwise through the bark of the stock, and a small cut at right 

 angles at the top, the whole somewhat resembling the letter T., fig. 3. 

 A bud is then taken from a shoot 

 of the present year's growth, by 

 shaving off the bark an inch or 

 an inch and a half in length, with 

 ^ a small part of the wood directly 

 beneath the bud, fig. 4. The ed- 

 ges of the bark, at the incision 

 in the stock, are then raised a 

 little, fig. 5, and the bud pushed 

 Fig. 7. downward under the bark, fig. 6. A 

 bandage of bass-bark, woolen-yarn, or other substance, is then 

 wrapped around, commencing at the bottom and passing the bud, re- 

 turning again and tying just below, covering all but the bud, fig. 7. 

 The pressure should be' just sufficient to keep the inserted portion 

 closely to the stock, but not such as to bruise or crush the bark. In 

 about ten days or two weeks after insertion, the strings will 

 require to be loosened, and at expiration of three weeks removed 

 altogether. The ensuing spring, as soon as the buds begin to swell 

 strongly, cut off the stock about six inches above the bud ; and as 

 the shoot or bud grows, tie it to the pieee of stock above its inser- 

 tion until about midsummer, when it will be time to cut away the 

 piece of stock above the bud, leaving a sloping cut downward from 

 the top of insertion of bud. An improper practice with some is to 

 place the buds in water ; this so saturates them with moisture, that 

 they have no attractive force left to imbibe the sap of the stock, and 

 hence often fail to grow. In cutting the shoot containing buds in- 

 tended to be inserted, the leaf should immediately be cut off to 

 within half an inch of the bud, otherwise the evaporation will 

 exhaust and injure its vitality. If buds are wanted to be kept a 

 number of days, they should be wrapped in damp moss or wet 

 cloths ; or if desired to send any distance, the whole wrapped in oiled 

 silk. In this way they will keep without injury ten days or more. 

 " Annular budding is applicable to trees of hard wood, or thick 

 or rigid bark, as the walnut and magnolia. A ring 



, _ of bark is removed from the stock, and another cor- 



Si/Jl EJjJm responding ring, containing the bud, slit open on one 

 side, is made to fit the denuded space. Fig. 8. 



" Trees which have been girdled in winter by mice, 

 may be preserved by a process similar to annular bud- 

 ding, by cutting away evenly the gnawed portions, 

 and applying one or more pieces of bark peeled from 

 the branch of another tree, so as to restore the con- 



