78 Treatment of Buds. 
good work. The use of twine is speedy, but the strands bearing 
upon a narrow surface, and not being elastic, they are apt to 
do injury by cutting into the bark unless carefully watched and 
loosened. The fiber from basswood bark was formerly largely 
used, but has given place to the other materials named, which are 
more handily obtained. The buds must be examined about a 
week or ten days after insertion, and the ligature loosened, for 
otherwise it will cut into the rapidly-growing, stock. Some- 
times trees are badly injured by neglect in this particular. 
In making June buds, where immediate growth of the bud 
is desired, some growers make a hard knot with the cord around 
the stock, above the bud, and then use the loose ends to tie the 
bud. When the binding around the bud is loosened, the hard 
knot remains on the stock, girdles it, and forces the sap into the 
bud. Thin wire, known to nurserymen as “label wire,” is also 
used for this purpose. 
In going through the nursery row, all seedlings which are 
large enough are budded at once. In going through the row 
again to look to the bands, if the bud is seen to be fresh looking, 
it is considered to have “taken.” In stocks where the first bud 
has dried up, another is inserted lower down. Sometimes seed- 
lings which were too small to hold a bud at the first working 
over are given a bud later in the season, or left for taking up 
for root grafting in the winter. 
In nursery practise the budder does not stop to tie his buds, 
but 1s followed in the row by another man, who carries the tying 
material, and does this part of the work. 
The common method of budding thus described is used on 
all common orchard fruits. Special styles of budding for special 
fruits will be described in the chapters treating of those fruits. 
Usually the budded trees are allowed to stand in the nur- 
sery row with no other treatment that year than the insertion 
and care of the bud, the latter remaining dormant until the 
next spring. Then, as soon as the sap begins to swell the buds 
on the stock, the top is cut off down to about two inches above 
the bud, and all growth is kept off except that of the inserted 
bud. When that has grown out about twelve inches, the stub 
is cut off to about three-quarters of an inch or less from the bud, 
and the wood is quickly grown over by the bark. As there are 
apt to be dormant buds on the stock below the inserted bud, 
the trees have to be examined from time to time, and all such 
suckers removed. This is the common practise with budded 
trees. Exceptions will be noticed presently in connection with 
definitions of different kinds of trees known to the trade. 
Spring Budding.—-What has been said in reference to bud- 
ding applies to the use of dormant buds. It is also possible to 
