144 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE chap. 



freely. Rub the thorns off the two inches of the 

 branch to be operated on which are nearest to the 

 main stem. Next make a cross cut half an inch long 

 and about an inch from the stem, and be sure it goes 

 clean down to the wood, then make a clean straight 

 longitudinal cut at right angles to the first one as 

 far as the stem. Insert the bone handle of the 

 budding knife into this cut, and pass it evenly down 

 under the bark on both sides from cross cut to stem, 

 raising it a little, so that the two cuts form a T. It 

 is best so to choose the position that the longitudinal 

 cut does not pass through or near a wild natural bud, 

 as this will leave a little projection which vsdll hinder 

 the smooth passage of the bud. It is not worth 

 while to try to get the new bud just where a wild 

 one was before. 



The stock is now ready, and we turn to take a 

 bud from our Eose-shoot. This should be sliced off 

 so that we have the leaf-stalk with the bud under it 

 in the centre of about an inch of bark, the other side 

 being flat and smooth and containing a portion of 

 the wood of the Hose. 



Now comes the most critical point. The wood 

 has to be cleanly removed from the inside of the 

 shield of bark without taking with it the immature 

 soft growth or cambium, which forms the inside of 

 the bud. If the bud is in the right condition, the 

 wood generally breaks away from the bud, leaving 

 the appearance of an eye or hole which is filled up. 

 But if the inside of the bud appears hollow, a fresh 

 one should be taken, as a large percentage of 

 failures arises entirely from this cause. Occasionally 

 some may grow, but a good union is unlikely and 

 most will fail utterly. 



