46 PEACH C0LTUKB, 



fresh and thrifty; many of them will he/niif, instead of 

 leaf, buds ; and, after all, the risk of obtaining the true 

 variety will be found nearly, if not altogether, as great. 

 For ourselves, in view of all the circumstances, we 

 prefer buds taken from a thrifty, vigorous, young 

 nursery. 



The buds must be healthy. It is unnecessary to 

 dwell on this point. No prudent or honest man, • 

 with the least regard for his own interest or char- 

 acter, or his neighbors' rights, would knowingly 

 bud from a diseased stock. A trader in plague-in- 

 fested clothes or cattle is not so culpable or detestable. 

 They must be leaf, not fruit, buds. All ex- 

 perienced cultivators know that there are two kinds 

 of buds formed on the twigs, and that one of these 

 produces leaves and the other fruit the next season. 

 Now, what the budder wants is leaves and wood, 

 not blossoms and fruit, and he must, therefore, be 

 careful to get the right kind. The difference is 

 easily observed ; but an inexperienced man should 

 not trust himself, but rather employ an experienced 

 one to make the selections for him. If he is com- 

 pelled to do it himself, he must remember that 

 fruit buds are rounder, softer, and more open than 

 ^^" ■ the leaf buds. The difference between the two 

 kinds of buds is shown in fig. 3. The small pointed buds 

 are leaf buds, the rounder ones blossom buds, which fre- 

 quently occur in pairs, with a leaf-bud between them. 



