129 
Hinged, four-footed step-ladders, like the one here illustrated, 
are, as a rule, clumsy appliances, which are inconvenient on hill- 
side or uneven ground, beside 
being heavy and easily dislocated. 
. Those found ready-made for sale 
in shops are often so lightly made 
as te be of little use in the 
orchard. 
Healing cover—Varnish or wax 
paper is found useful for pre 
venting wounds, caused by the re- 
moval of a large limb, cracking 
and decaying owing to exposure; 
it also promotes a more speedy 
healing. For that purpose gum 
shellac is often used. It is made 
by dissolving in a little strong aleo- 
hol as much gum shellac as will 
An Undesirable Fruit Ladder. make the varnish of the consist- 
ency of paint. This varnish is 
kept in a well-corked flask, with a mouth wide enough to admit a 
brush, and is thus always ready for use. It is applied over the 
eut surface, well pared with the knife. Other good coverings for 
wounds made in pruning are also common white lead paint, grafting 
wax, coal tar, in the order named. The last named is often a hin- 
drance, while pine tar is even somewhat detrimental to healing. 
Nan 
aa 
CuTTING To A Bup. 
It is important before cutting off a branch of a tree or a rod 
of a vine to make sure that the last bud left on the plant, and which 
is intended to prolong the growth of the plant, is a sound, plump 
one, likely to grow, or whether it has accidentally been rubbed oft 
or otherwise destroyed. Such a terminal bud should be a leaf bud, 
and not a fruit bud. 
Leaf buds differ from fruit buds in being more elongated, 
flattened, and more pointed in the same species of plants; they 
are either single, or give growth to single shoots, or ‘double and 
even triple, when grouped in small clusters, two or three together, 
as in the case of stone fruits, they produce either leaves or 
branches. 
Fruit buds are distinguished from leaf buds by their rounder 
and fuller form, the scales that cover them are broader, and they 
begin to swell and burst open earlier in the Spring. 
Fruit buds are also single, as in the case of apples, pears, 
quinces, or single, double and triple, as in stone fruits and berries. 
They are, besides, simple or compound; that is to say they produce 
