VIII PROPAGATION 147 



more satisfactory operation when it is done, but it 

 requires an expert hand to get the bud in under 

 these circumstances, and the cross-cut system 

 answers very well. 



Budding on cutting or seedling stocks to make 

 " dwarf " plants is practised in just the same way, 

 except that in this case the bud is not put into the 

 branches, but into the old wood of the main stem, 

 beneath, if possible, the surface of the ground. As 

 before, no growths should be cut away or stopped, 

 but the shoots may be bent back to allow access to 

 the stem. A trowel or the blunt stump of an old 

 knife may be used for removing the earth round the 

 stock to the depth of an inch or more. The stem 

 should then be rubbed with the hand or a piece of 

 old flannel or cloth to make it clean and free from 

 grit, no harm being done by the removal of the 

 epidermis or outer skin of bark. 



The operation now proceeds as in standards, only 

 one bud being put into each stock, and great care 

 being taken that no particles of earth or extraneous 

 matter get in between the bud and the stock. With 

 extra strong manettis, or in any case where a small 

 bud has to be put into a strong rough thick-barked 

 stock, thin slices may be taken from the lips of the 

 bark to prevent its completely meeting over the 

 bud, and " drowning " it in growth. Formerly the 

 material used for the tying in of buds was bast or 

 Eussian matting, and then soft thick white cotton, 

 called "bonnet cotton," was much used by amateurs. 

 But the introduction of Eaffia supplied a material 

 of just the right consistence, softness and pliability, 

 which has also the happy knack for the purpose, 



L 2 



