1 6 ORCHARD FRUIT TREE CULTURE 



injuring the " cambium," and this bruising must seriously com- 

 promise the success of the operation. 



The buds are taken from wood of the current season's growth, 

 and these, too, must be "in sap.'* It must be fairly firm wood, 

 and the eyes from the lower part of the growth must be used in 

 preference to the soft, immature, and still growing top. They 

 should be taken from young trees rather than from old, as con- 

 taining greater strength, vigour, and vitality. 



Let us here add that the whole of these instructions are general, 

 and apply to all our hardy tree fruit : apples, apricots, cherries, 

 peaches, pears, and plums. 



Immediately the buds are severed from the parent trees they 

 must be denuded of their leaves otherwise they will draw all the 

 sap out of the wood the leaf-stalks being left on as " guards," as 

 shown in Fig. 5. Then they must be stood upright with their 

 heels in shallow water and kept in the shade, or, better still, be 

 wrapped up in a piece of wet sacking, until they pass into the 

 hands of the budder for immediate insertion. 



The method of making the T-cut ; of cutting out the shield-like 

 bud and taking out its wood ; the insertion of the bud itself, are 

 all shown in our illustration 6, and being so shown are less likely 

 to be misunderstood than any words of our own. All we need insist 

 upon is that all should be neatly and deftly done without bungling. 

 The knife used should be as sharp as it can be made, the handle 

 end thin, so that there can be no danger of bruising the mem- 

 branes and fibres ; and in the making of the T-cut in the bark the 

 pressure on the knife should be such that it does not penetrate or 

 wound deeper than that, for the slightest abrasion on the under- 

 lying wood may breed future trouble unless the stock has sufficient 

 vitality to heal it over quickly. Neatness and deftness may soon be 

 acquired by practice, and both these are essential factors in pro- 

 moting and assuring the success of the operation. 



The proper tying of the buds is a detail entrusted to the juniors, 

 but it must be looked upon as being a very important detail. It 

 has definite functions, which if perfunctorily done it cannot 

 perform. It holds the bud in the close embrace of the stock, so 

 that the sap cannot pass it by unfed ; it closes and binds the 

 wound ; it excludes the air, and wards off rain and sunshine and 



