4 BULLETIN" 334, TJ. S. DEPAKTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



purposes is from the middle of July to the end of August. The ordi- 

 nary method of shield budding, with dry and unwaxed raffia wrap- 

 ping, has proved the most successful of all the methods tried. The 

 best wood on which to bud is the lower portion of vigorous basal 

 shoots, of the season, especially those from plants that were cut to 

 the stump in the preceding winter. On such shoots the bark can 

 be lifted with ease much later in the season than on older stems. 

 Special care must be taken that the raffia wrapping does not become 

 wet and fermentation ensue between the raw surfaces of bud and 

 stock, in the first three weeks. By that time, in normal cases, the 

 bud wood has united with the stock, and if the budded stem has in- 

 creased in diameter sufficiently to cause pronounced choking by the 

 raffia the wrapping should be removed. If choking does not occur 

 the wrapping may be allowed to remain until spring, when the stem 

 is cut off above the still dormant bud. In greenhouse experiments, 

 a growth of over 8 feet has been secured from an inserted bud in its 

 first growing season, all other growth from the stock having been 

 promptly rubbed off as soon as it started. 



STUMPING. 



The easiest way to propagate the swamp blueberry is by a special 

 process of layering named " stumping." The directions are as follows : 



1. In late fall, winter, or spring, preferably in early spring before the buds 

 have begun to push, cut off at the surface of the ground either the whole of 

 the plant or as many of the stems as it is desired to devote to this method of 

 propagation. The stems that are cut off are discarded, or they may be used 

 for cuttings, as described under " Tubering " or " Winter cuttings." 



2. Cover the stumps to the depth of 2 to 3 inches with a mixture of clean 

 sand and sifted peat, 2 to 4 parts of sand to 1 of peat, by bulk. A rough box or 

 frame may be built on the ground to keep the sand bed in place. 



3. Care must be taken that the sand bed be not allowed to become dry 

 except at the surface during the summer. 



4. The new growth from the stumps, which without the sand would consist 

 of stems merely, is transformed in working its way through the sand bed into 

 scaly, erect, or nearly erect rootstocks which, on reaching the surface of the 

 sand, continue their development into leafy shoots. (See PL II.) Although 

 roots are formed only sparingly on the covered bases of stems, they develop 

 abundantly during spring and early summer on these artificially produced 

 rootstocks, and by the end of autumn all the shoots should be well rooted at 

 the base. They should remain in place in the sand bed till late winter or 

 early spring, undisturbed and exposed to outdoor freezing temperatures;, but 

 the sand should be mulched with leaves, preferably those of red oaks. 



5. Early in the following spring, before the buds have begun to push, open 

 the bed and sever each rooted shoot carefully from the stump. Discard the 

 upper portion of the shoot, making the cut at such a point as to leave on the 

 basal portion about three buds above the former level of the sand bed. If the 

 cut at the basal end of the rooted shoot is not smooth or the wood is cracked, 

 recut the surface with a sharp thin-bladed knife. The discarded upper por- 

 tion of the shoot may be used for winter cuttings, as described on pages 8 to 11. 



6. Set the rooted shoots in a coldframe or a cool greenhouse in clean earthen- 

 ware pots of suitable size, ordinarily 3-inch pots, in a soil mixture consisting of 

 two parts, by bulk, of rotted upland peat and one part of sand. 



