PROPAGATING FRUIT TREES. 191 



moved. But there is danger of injury to the 

 bud, if this is done unskillfully. Fig. 22 shows 

 the perpendicular and horizontal slits through 

 the bark of the stock, and Fig. 23 shows 



Fig. 22. Fig. 23. Fig. 24. Fig. 25. 



the lips of the bark slightly raised by the thin 

 hilt of the budding knife. In Fig. 24 the bud 

 is seen slipped into its place, the bark lapping 

 smoothly over it. It is now necessary to bind 

 the bud so firmly that the air and rain will be 

 excluded, as may be seen in Fig. 25. The soft 

 and moistened strings selected from bass mats 

 have been used for this purpose. A grass called 

 Eoffea is coming into use as an excellent material 

 for tying. It is very soft, pliable, and strong, 

 and is a decided improvement on bass bark, or 



