PROPAGATION BY BUDDING AND GRAFTING. 71 



of wood. A large part of the success in budding depends 

 on the ability of the operator to keep a smooth, sharp- 

 edged budding knife. 



FIG. 39. Downward slope in making the T cut. 



74. Budding the Same Season the Pits are Planted. 



The pits of our native plums are often planted very early 

 in spring quite thinly, given good cultivation, and are 

 budded quite late the same season. These young, excit- 

 able seedlings continue growth late and the bark can be 

 raised two weeks after the usual season of plum-budding 

 The stocks, rather small above the ground, can be budded 

 an inch below the surface where the size is larger. The 

 seedlings of wild red cherry (Primus Pennsylvanica] can 

 in like manner be budded late the same season the pits 

 are planted. It is the same with the peach, and in the 

 South it is now the usual commercial method. But it is 

 necessary, to secure good roots on seedling stocks budded 

 without transplanting, to cut the tap-roots with a spade 

 or to run a side-cut tree-digger under the rows. 



75. After Care of Summer Buds. A few days after the 

 buds are inserted the growth of the stocks above and below 



