IN CALIFORNIA 149 



some sorts a goodly crop of attenuated side branches 

 break out well down on the main stem, and these 

 should be kept off, or they will take part of the food 

 and thereby weaken the main crop ; for these, being 

 nearer the food supply, will rob all the terminals of 

 a good share of nutriment, and those are the ones 

 from which you may expect the best flowers. 



Much care must be taken in top or flower disbud- 

 ding. The stems to these buds are very brittle and 

 break very easily. Hold the buds with one hand and 

 take a small stick like a toothpick and crowd off the 

 buds which you wish to dispose of. You will make 

 some mistakes here. If you should leave a leaf bud 

 instead of a flower bud all is not lost. The leaf bud 

 will make a branch which will in a short time present 

 a terminal cluster like the one with which you have 

 just dealt; then try again. This breaking out of 

 buds must not be neglected for even a few days, but 

 must be attended to at the proper time. Disbudding 

 for the earliest sorts begins about August 5th and 

 for the very latest sorts about September 15th. 



CROWN AND TERMINAL BUDS 



Growers recognize two kinds of buds, terminal, 

 and crown. These terms are easily understood, the 

 one large bud which first comes at the end of each 

 shoot is the crown bud; the secondary ones are the 

 terminal buds, of which several surround the crown. 

 In the early sorts it is best to use the crown buds. 



The crown buds will begin to show in August, 

 though in fact on some varieties they are formed 

 at any time during the summer, but if surrounding 

 buds are taken off before late in August the crown 

 buds are liable to produce imperfect flowers. Other 

 phases of disbudding may begin earlier if plants are 

 sufficiently advanced. A crown bud may be distin- 



