i8 



ORCHARD FRUIT TREE CULTURE 



though the calendar has gone round a full half-hundred times 

 since then. 



The material used for tying-in purposes varies. At one time we 

 used Archangel mats cut up ; then we got to raffia ; then to twisted 

 cotton ; then to raffia tape and back to raffia again. The desiderata 



T-cut ready for Bud 



FIG. 6 



Bud insertion 



is something soft and holding, that is not too much affected by the 

 weather. As to the actual tying : the ligatures should be close 

 together round the stock, beginning below the cut, working upward, 

 and finishing well above the T-crosscut, every strand being drawn 

 taut. The projecting " guard " is worked up to quite closely, 

 and care is taken that no ligature smothers the " eye " ; otherwise 

 the actual binding is close. Our illustration, Fig. 7, shows the 



