94 GRAFTAGE. 



ica is itself a strong presumption in its favor. Growers 

 differ among themselves as to the best methods of per- 

 forming the operation, but an intelligent American will 

 not condemn the system as necessarily bad or wrong. In 

 1890 there were growing in the United States nurseries 

 240,570,666 apple trees, 88,494,367 plum trees, 77,223,402 

 pear trees, and 49,887,874 peach trees, with enough other 

 species to make the total of fruit trees 518,016,612. All 

 of this vast number will go as grafted or budded trees to 

 the consumer, and he will accept none other. It is true 

 that half of them may die from various causes before they 

 reach bearing age, but graftage itself plays a small part 

 in the failure, as may be seen in the case of grapes and 

 small fruits, which outnumber the tree fruits in nursery 

 stock, and of which less than one-half probably reach 

 maturity, and yet these are cutting-grown plants. It is, 

 in nineteen cases out of twenty, the carelessness of the 

 grower which brings failure. 



It is impossible, if one considers the facts broadly and 

 candidly, to arrive at any other conclusion than this : 

 Graftage is not suited to all plants, but in those to which 

 it is adapted— and they are many — it is not a devitalizing 

 process. 



2. BUDDING. 



Budding is the operation of applying a single bud, 

 bearing little or no wood, to the surface of the growing 

 wood of the stock. The bud is applied directly to the 

 cambium layer of the stock. It is nearly always inserted 

 under the bark of the stock, but in flute-budding a piece 

 of bark is entirely removed, and the bud is used to cover 

 the wound. There is no general rule to determine what 

 species of plants should be budded and which ones cion- 

 grafted. In fact, the same species is often multiplied by 

 both operations. Plants with thin bark and an abundance 

 of sap are likely to do best when grafted ; or if they are 

 budded, the buds should be inserted at a season when the 



