CHAPTER IX 



BUDDING AND GRAFTING 



If the nursery ground has been well worked and the seed prop- 

 erly handled, the growth of the seedling will be strong and rapid. 

 If an early start was had and other conditions favorable, some 

 kinds will be ready for budding in June, and the production of what 

 are called "J une buds," as will be described presently. In ordinary 

 practice, however, budding will come later, and the budding season 

 extends from July to October. The weight of the budding of 

 deciduous trees is generally done in August and September. 



BUDDING 



The process of budding, as employed on all the common fruit 

 trees, is very simple. It consists in lifting the bark and inserting 

 a bud from another tree in such a way that the inner bark of the 

 bud shall come in contact with the layer of growing wood in the 

 stock, and then it will be quickly knit to it by the new cell-growth 

 if the bark is closed around the inserted bud closely enough to 

 prevent the air from drying the two surfaces at the point of contact. 



In the engraving 1 is the cutting or "bud stick" from the tree 

 of the kind into which it is desired to transform the seedling. This 

 cutting is usually made from the growth of the present season, 

 which has well-formed budfe at the axils of the leaves, although 

 in some cases older dormant buds may be used, as will appear in 

 the discussions of the different fruits. If buds are desired to 

 mature early, pinch off the ends of the growing shoots from which 

 they are to be taken. Suckers and so-called "water sprouts 1 ' should 

 not be used, but rather well-formed wood from the branches of 

 the tree. It is requisite that the buds be taken from a vigorous, 

 healthy tree of the variety desired. Bud sticks can be carried or 

 sent considerable distances if packed in damp moss or other mate- 

 rial to prevent drying, but care must be taken not to enclose too 

 much water or decay will be promoted. Fresh shoots in tight tin 

 boxes without wet packing are safer and carry very long distances. 

 Sealing the ends with grafting wax is also a good precaution 

 against drying out. 



Budding knives can be bought at all seed stores and cutlery 

 establishments. They have a thin, round-ended blade at one end 

 of the handle, and at the other end the bone is thinned down, or a 

 bone blade inserted. The former is for cutting and the latter for 

 lifting the bark of the stock into which the bud is to be placed. 

 Armed with a bud stick and such a knife, the "buckler" starts in 



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