PROPAGATION BT BTTDDING. 197 



union can take place ; consequently, both bud and stock 

 should be in a condition to produce cells soon after the 

 junction of these is artificially made. As the delicate 

 tissues of growing wood and bark are very sensibive to 

 exposure, it is apparent that in performing the operation 

 of budding, in any of its forms, it should be done as rap- 

 idly as possible compatible with completeness of execu- 

 tion. The young wood containing the bud is, however, 

 not so perishable as to prevent the preserving of them for 

 several days in good condition, and it has recently become 

 quite a general practice among nurserymen to supply 

 their customers at a distance from the nursery with buds 

 of various kinds during the season. When the sticks of 

 buds, as they are termed, are cut from the tree, the leaves 

 should be removed, leaving about an inch of the petiole, 

 or leaf-stalk, attached to the branch for convenience in 

 handling the bud at the time it is inserted in the stock. 

 The sticks of buds should then be wrapped in damp 

 moss that will keep them in good condition for several 

 days, but the less interval that elapses between the time 

 they are cut and that when they are used, the better. In 

 the ordinary and more common modes of budding, dur- 

 ing the months of July, August and September, in tem- 

 perate climates, the bud is not expected to push into 

 growth until the following spring, it remaining in a dor- 

 mant state ! through the winter months. "Whether the 

 budding should be performed during the first or last 

 month named, will depend upon the condition of the 

 stocks, but those kinds that complete their growth ear- 

 liest in the season, should be budded first. If the stocks 

 are likely to cease growing before the buds are ready 

 for use, the maturing of the latter may be hastened by 

 pinching off the ends of the twigs, thereby throwing all 

 the sap into that part which remains. The buds should 

 be plump and of good form and substance, a condition 

 which may be readily understood by an examination of 

 shoots in different stages of growth. 



