452 JRemarks and Observations smrrested 



'bb'- 



cut away a piece of the shoot, and afterwards extract the wood ; 

 but this destroys the very sharp edge of the knife, and the cut 

 will invariably be found more or less rough. The bark should 

 be cut all round the bud to the shape and size wanted, and the 

 thumb pressed against the cut portion, at the side of the bud: if 

 the shoot is growing and healthy, the bud will separate freely, 

 and there will be no laceration of the edge ; the bark will be cut 

 as smooth as a piece of cheese, and the edge of the knife will be 

 kept sharp, as no wood needs to be cut through. As far as me- 

 chanical operation is concerned, this cutting smooth is of far 

 more importance than any method of inserting the bud ; if the 

 bud does not squeeze freely off the branch with the side of the 

 thumb, it is very doubtful of succeeding. In general, buds are 

 inserted with the intention of ripening in the stock in the autumn, 

 and the stock being cut over in spring, to allow the bud to push ; 

 but some, as the variegated sycamore, which ripen their wood 

 early, succeed best if done early, and the bud allowed to push 

 a small shoot in the autumn ; others, as the striped-barked maple, 

 which are late in ripening their wood, succeed best by being 

 budded in spring, when the sap has begun to flow ; as camel- 

 lias are done. Evergreens, as rhododendrons, succeed best 

 in the full growth of summer, when the sap is in full flow, and 

 are the better of a little bottom heat in the frames to excite the 

 plants. 



Much of the success of grafting depends on keeping the al- 

 burnum, or newest layers of wood and liber, or inner bark of 

 the stock and graft, closely united and pressed together, till a 

 complete union takes place ; it is in the bark and soft wood, as 

 observed by Dr. Lindley, that the developement is most rapid, 

 though all the cellular tissue is capable of uniting. For this 

 purpose they should be as near of a size as possible, and the 

 slice from each should be very small, allowing as much of the 

 alburnum as possible to remain on both ; it is there where the 

 sap rises ; and if the slice is made, either in graft or stock, 

 through to the heart wood, the ascent of the sap is stopped, ex- 

 cept by the edges. The graft should not be put on till the stock 

 has commenced to grow, when the new layer of inner bark is 

 about to be formed, and the efforts to unite commence; both 

 stock and graft are apt to dry and shrink, or cling, and thus part 

 from one another, if done long before the commencement of 

 growth. The grafts should be taken off befoi'e they begin to 

 spring, and their ends inserted in damp earth ; as they will cling 

 more if taken off after they have begun to swell by growth, and 

 thus part more from the stock. Also, if the living principle is set 

 in motion by the commencement of growth before taking off, and 

 then checked by taking off, or by cold weather succeeding 



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