THE PEACHES OF NEW YORK I5I 



The peach is tiniversally budded in America, grafting being most difficult, 

 though trees can be grown from root-cuttings. The method of budding 

 is the common T, or shield-bud. The buds " take" in a week or two, 

 but remain dormant until the next spring when the top of the stock above 

 the bud is removed to give the cion right of way. At one year from the bud, 

 two years from the seed, in northern climates, the trees are ready to be 

 transplanted in the orchard. In the South and on the Pacific Slope, bud- 

 ding may be done in June, thereby saving a season. These " June buds," 

 however, excepting under the most favorable conditions, in the East at 

 least, are weaklings not nearly so desirable as " summer buds." Occasion- 

 ally, more particularly in California, summer-budded stocks are planted 

 in the fall or the next spring as " dormant buds." In New York, trees older 

 than one year from the bud are seldom worth planting though occasionally 

 it is necessar}^ to save stocks until their second season before budding. 



In budding, the bud-sticks are cut as needed, after which the leaves, 

 are trimmed leaving about a quarter of an inch of the stem as a handle 

 to the bud. After trimming, the sticks are wrapped in damp burlap and 

 are taken to the field — once dried, they are worthless. The buds at the 

 end of the bud-stick are discarded, the plump, hard buds near the middle 

 of the stick being the most vigorous. At the point where the bud is to be 

 inserted a T-shaped incission is made, the transverse cut being secxired by 

 a rocking motion of the knife and the vertical one by lightly drawing the 

 knife upward from a point about an inch below the first cut. Before 

 removing the knife a slight twist of the blade loosens the edges better to 

 receive the bud. 



The bud is cut from below upward with a drawing motion of the 

 knife. Nearly the entire thickness of the bark is cut at the point of the 

 bud so that it will not crumple when inserted into the stock. Almost 

 no wood is taken with the bud but on the other hand the bud must not be 

 so thin that the soft growing tissue between the bark and wood is injured. 

 The bud is taken between the thumb and forefinger and lifted free from the 

 wood. With the leaf -stem as a handle the bud is inserted into the T-shaped 

 incision and pushed down until its " heel " is flush with the transverse cut. 

 Waxing is not necessary but the bud must be securely tied. 



For this purpose raffia is now almost universally used. It is cut into 

 lengths of eighteen or twenty inches and moistened to make it soft and 

 pliable. The strand is first brought firmly across the upper end of the bud 

 to keep it from working out. Beginning then at the bottom of the slit. 



