PROPAGATION BY BUDDING AND GRAFTING 125 



with the blade. A good form of blade, but one seldom made, 

 has a rounded end, the upper side of the curve being ground 



FIG. 134. Budding-knives. The two-bladed form is a combined budding- and 



grafting-knife. 



simply to a thin edge. This blade may be used both for cut- 

 ting the bark and loosening it, thus overcoming the necessity 



FIG. 135. Budding-knife with stationary blade (x 5). 



of reversing the knife every time a bud is set. The blade 

 of a common budding-knife- can be ground to this shape. In 

 large fruit-tree nurseries the knife 

 shown in Fig. 135 (and the top one 

 in Fig. 134) is in common use. 

 This is a cheap knife with a station- 

 ary blade. When using this knife, 

 the operator loosens the bark with 

 the rounded edge of the blade. 



The bud is usually cut about an 

 inch long. Most budders cut from 

 below upwards (as seen in the in- 

 verted stick in Fig. 133, and in Flu ' 136 ' Cutting the bud. 

 Fig. 136), but some prefer to make a downward incision. 

 It does not matter just how the bud is cut, if the surfaces are 



