ON PLANT PROPAGATION. 



969 



Period of Budding. — Generally • speaking, the middle of 

 summer (July) is the best time for budding, but the operator 

 must partly depend on his own judgment, for there are many 

 influences to take into consideration as regards the fitness of the 

 buds and the condition of the stocks. Buds, or eyes, should be 

 taken when they are well developed in the axils of the leaves, 

 and when the bark pares easily from the wood, both in the case 

 of the scion and in that of the stock, for unless this is the case 

 the buds will be quite useless. The operation is preferably 

 performed during the morning or afternoon, when the sun is not 

 too powerful, dull weather being best but it should never be 

 undertaken directly after rain, when water can still be seen on the 

 shoots, for if done then foreign matters can easily get into the 

 cut, and will ruin the bud at once. Should the weather be 

 very dry at the date fixed for grafting, and the sap be prevented 

 from flowing freely in either the stock or the scion, it is advis- 

 able to give them a copious watering a night or two before 

 operatin.sj, and this should be continued afterwards until the rain 

 again falls. 



There are many methods of budding, but when well performed 

 all give the same result if both bud and stock are in suitable 

 condition. 



"T"-BuDDiNG is the method generally employed, and the one 

 that is here recommended for its simplicity and value. Several 

 other names have been applied to it, but all mean the same 

 thing. The shoots, or branches, from which the buds, or eyes, 

 are to be removed must be of the current year's growth, pre- 

 ference being given to those which are firm and well ripened. 

 First, all the leaves must be removed, leaving only the petiole, 

 or stalk ; then the bark must be cut ^in. above the eye and 

 cut downwards through the wood to ^in. below, and the thumb- 

 nail of the right hand inserted between the wood and the bark. 

 The wood must then be removed by a sharp jerk, and the bark 

 will by this means have a tapering point at each end. . When 

 the wood is removed from the bud, great care must be taken 

 to see that the core of it remains, for if the bud, or eye, is 

 hollow it will not succeed. A "f-shaped incision must next 

 be made in the stock right through the bark, on a shoot 

 also of the present season's growth. The transverse cut 

 must be made first and then the perpendicular one upwards. 

 The handle of the budding-knife must be placed under the bark 

 on either side, raising it, and the bud can then be inserted so 

 that its bark is clasped by that of the stock. Binding must be 

 performed tightly, using strong bass matting or worsted, and the 

 cut must be covered from one extremity to the other, leaving an 

 opening for the bud, or eye. The binding is intended not only 

 to fix the two parts together, but also to exclude air and wet. 

 When dealing with plants of special value, it is advisable to 



