182 FIELD, FOREST AND FARM 



swelling may be secured with no expenditure of in- 

 genuity on our part. Take hold of a small branch 

 and pull it down so as to split it off from the main 

 stem. Thus torn away it will bring with it a sort of 

 spur or splinter from the trunk directly under the 

 severed branch. This spur, trimmed with a knife 

 to give it a less ragged outline, will render the same 

 service as the ring-shaped swelling: the descending 

 sap will be stopped in its course at this point, will 

 accumulate, and will foster the growth of adventi- 

 tious roots. 



"Instead of breaking off the branch by tearing it 

 away at its base, one can, with a stroke of the prun- 

 ing-knife above this base and another below it, cut 

 the older limb bearing this branch so that the latter 

 carries with it a piece of the former. With this 

 piece as a sort of natural bourrelet or swelling, suc- 

 cess is rendered more assured than in any other way. 



"To conclude, let us say a few words about slip- 

 ping by means of buds, a kind of planting that uses 

 buds instead of seeds. This method, which requires 

 the nicest care of any, is adopted only in exceptional 

 cases. Let us suppose we have a very few shoots, 

 or only one, from some extremely rare variety of 

 grape-vine, and we wish to obtain from this single 

 shoot the greatest possible number of slips. To 

 this end the shoot is cut into small pieces about five 

 centimeters long, each bearing a bud midway of its 

 length. These pieces are then each split in two 

 lengthwise, and the part with the bud is retained, 

 the other thrown away. Thus prepared, the pieces 



