113 



budding. When it is desired to bud, a longitudinal section of 1J- 

 inch is made with the grafting-knife on any internode of the shoot 

 to be grafted ; the shoot is bent inwards, bow fashion, when after 



slightly raising the bark on each side of the incision with the blade 

 of the knife, when the lips of the incised bark will open slightly and 

 a bud such as has been described is cut and slipped in. The shoot, 

 is then left to spring back as it was before bending, and the scion- 

 bud is compressed between the bark and the growing wood of the 

 stock. A ligature of wool or rafia is then tied round, or a strip of 

 waxed calico wrapped round the wound. In a couple of weeks' time 

 the ligature is removed, and if the bud has taken it is either 

 forced to grow if early in the season by pinching the shoots 

 of the stock directly after budding, and reducing them further a 

 fortnight later, and finally cutting them above the bud, or it may, 

 on the other hand, be allowed to remain dormant until next spring. 



The main objection to this method of budding is the difficulty 

 of selecting the right sort of scion-bud, and for this reason the next 

 method is preferred. 



VOTJZOU BUD. 



This method is in every respect similar to the one described as 

 suitable for fruit trees. It can be performed all through the 

 growing season, and preferably from October to January. One 

 point worth noting is that when detaching the bud, and previously 

 to inserting it in the T-shaped incision, the veneer of wood which 

 is cut off with the bud is not picked out, and it is even desirable to> 

 cut deep enough to just reach the pith. There is no inconvenience 

 to leave some of it opposite the cut. A section of one-third to one- 

 fourth of the node bearing a solitary bud gives good results. A 

 fortnight after the bud has taken, the canes of the stock are cut 

 back to insure knitting and shooting of the bud. The ties, however, 

 are not removed until a month after budding. This method is 

 simple, gives a high percentage of strikes ; good knitting can be 



See New Methods of Grafting and Budding. Dubois and Wilkinson, p 12, 



