THE HANDLING OF THE PLANTS 153 
stock, and it is held in place by tying with a soft strand. In two 
or three weeks the bud will have “‘stuck”’ (that is, it will have 
grown fast to the stock), and the strand is cut to prevent its 
strangling the stock. Ordinarily the bud does not grow until 
the following spring, at which time the entire stock or branch 
in which the bud is inserted is cut off an inch above the bud; 
and the bud thereby receives all the energy of the stock. Bud- 
ding is the commonest grafting operation in nurseries. Seeds 
of peaches may be sown in spring, and the plants which result 
will be ready for budding that same August. The 
following spring, or a year from the planting of the 
seed, the stock is cut off just above the bud (which 
is inserted near the ground), and in the fall of that 
year the tree is ready for sale; that is, the top is one 
season old and the root is two seasons old, but in the 
trade it is known as a one-year-old tree. In the 
South, the peach stock may be budded in June or 
early July of the year in which the seed is planted, 
and the bud grows into a saleable tree the same 
year: this is known as June budding. In apples 
and pears the stock is usually two years old before 
it is budded, and the tree is not sold until the top has grown 
two or three years. Budding may be performed also in the 
spring, in which case the bud will grow the same season. 
Budding is always done on young growths, preferably on those 
not more than one year old. 
Grafting is the insertion of asmall branch (or cion), usually 
bearing more than one bud. If grafting is employed on small 
stocks, it is customary to employ the whip-graft (Fig. 175). 
Both stock and cion are cut across diagonally, and a split made 
in each, so that one fits into the other. The graft is tied securely 
with a string, and then, if it is above ground, it is also waxed 
carefully. 
In larger limbs or stocks, the common method is to employ 
