FRUIT TREES. Chap. I. 23 



The crown graft, which doesn't work on stocks in nurseries but rather on large trees 

 already in place, sometimes grows with such energy that it needs to be propped up 

 against the wind, the rain, & the weight of its own leaves, that could loosen it. Cleft grafts 

 often require the same precaution. 



III. BUD SHIELD GRAFT. 1°. The graft L, Fig. 4. to be lifted is merely a piece of 

 bark with a bud on it. It's cut into a shape resembling a shield in an old coat-of-arms, 

 from which it gets its name. 



Each person lifts it according to the method with which he is most familiar. Some lift the 

 graft together with a little of the wood that they subsequently remove with the point of a 

 grafting knife. Practice & experience have made some grafters very skilled at removing 

 the bud shield with so little wood on it that there is no need to cut it off. An objection to 

 this method, the one most commonly used, is that the viscous material inside the bark 

 often is liable to be damaged. But more of a concern, & more usually done, is cutting & 

 damaging the bark itself that is essential for preserving the viscous material, as we'll see 

 below. 



Others cut the piece of bark R while on the branch, & grasping it with the thumb 

 and index finger, detach it from the wood. But if sap is not running in the branch, the 

 bark can be damaged, and frequently the bud is separated from the small woody filament 

 attached at one end to the cambium layer of the branch with the other end extending into 

 the bud. Since this woody filament represents the germ of the tree that must grow from 

 the graft, there never will be any growth if it stays behind on the branch & the bud graft is 

 lacking it. 



Finally, others cut the piece of bark on the branch. Inserting the end of a very thin 

 & very small grafting knife between the wood & the bark, they cut the woody filament, 

 that is extremely delicate, 



