THE ROSE AND ITS CULTURE. 



183 



the rising sap to bear upon and pass into the hark 

 section of the hud. There is no practical difficulty 

 in placing- the hud in the base of the sHt and pushing 

 the hud upwards to the top, excepting this, that it is 

 impossible to place it so near to the base of the stock 

 in this way. However, the cross could be made and 

 the bud-bark butted up against it after the bud is in- 

 serted. Neither is there any serious objection to 

 cross-cutting the slit ahke at top and bottom, so as 

 to have the bud helped to "take" alike by the rising 

 sap from below, and the descending sap from above. 

 This compound J-budding has proved quite success- 

 ful when tried, and so also has mere slit-budding 

 without any cross-cut at a,ll. 



Reversal of tlie Buds.— This has been thought 

 to give greater vigour to them, and to make them 

 break more strongly. It has, however, been found 

 that buds so placed are more apt to be twisted 

 out by the wind than any others. The buds grow 

 very w^ell upside-down, as there is no anatomical 

 reason to the contrary. But there is no practical 

 advantage in their being turned upside-down. 



Tying in the Buds.— This should be done the 

 moment they are inserted, for the greatest enemy to 

 the rapid union of buds and stocks is air, or rather 

 the drying effects of the latter on such delicate 

 tissues. Hence the importance of not exposing 

 the naked internal surface of the bark of the bud, 

 nor the slit or cut in the stock, one moment more 

 than is needful. The air not only wastes the 

 most precious juices of the plant, but dries up and 

 destroys their viscid properties, or those that cement 

 the union between them. AVater is almost as re- 

 pellant a force as air, hence budding should not be 

 carried on in wet weather, nor the buds laid in water, 

 as is often the case. Just as the clean blood is the 

 best healing salve for all wounds amongst animals, 

 so the fresh, sweet, unexposed, unwatered sap is the 

 most powerful of all forces in welding into one any 

 two fractured vegetable tissues. 



The tj^ing is therefore simply a mechanical safe- 

 guard to keep the bud in position, and not, as many 

 seem to suppose, an active uniting force.- It serves 

 a similar purpose to the surgeon's splints on a 

 broken limb, the insuring of complete repose and 

 freedom fi'om movement of any kind. It is impor- 

 tant, however, that it should be so firm as to render 

 the parts immovable, yet not so tight as to hinder 

 circulation or wound the bark. Begin at the bottom 

 and pass the ligature three or four times round 

 under the bnd, and as many above, and the tie is 

 complete. Expert tiers mostly hold one end of the 

 tie under the branch of the stock, whilst they wind 

 mth the other, and thus find the tie-end ready for 



tying slightly beyond the cross-cut when finished. 

 Some wind closely the whole way, so as to cover 

 every portion of the slit. It matters little so long as 

 the bark is not injured, the bud in the centre left 

 free, and the bnd is held immovable till the two 

 tissues are united. 



Labelling or numbering should follow close on the 

 heels of budding, as it adds much to our pleasure to 

 see at a glance 'which sorts take and which may have 

 failed. 



Shading the Bud. — This is often done by 

 amateurs, and may help buds to take that have 

 not been inserted in a business-like manner. A 

 little damp moss or a small leaf is the simplest 

 mode of shading. These can be tied on so as to 

 moderate the fierceness of the sun's heat for a day 

 or so. But, generally speaking, shading is unneces- 

 sary. In very hot weather it is safest not to bud 

 during the two or three hours on either side of noon ; 

 early in the morning, or late in the afternoon and 

 throughout the evening, is the best time to bud, 

 as well for the plants as the operator. 



Time of Taking. — This varies considerably ac- 

 cording to the weather and other circumstances. 

 Within a fortnight to a month the bud will either 

 have become safely united to the stock or have 

 perished. 



Removal of Ties. — This may be done about 

 three weeks after budding. If left too long they often 

 cause much injury to the bark, and irreparable mis- 

 chief to the bud ; almost strangling it by their tight- 

 ness, and checking or stopping its supplies of food. 

 If the union is perfected, no further ties are needed. 



Re-tying. — This is not imfrequently necessary, 

 and it needs experience and a practised eye to know 

 when the union is so complete as to justify the re- 

 moval of all ties. The wood may have grown so much 

 since budding as to render the removal of the first 

 tie necessary, and yet the wounds not be perfectly 

 healed, or the union be so complete as to need no 

 further binding. When any doubt exists on this 

 point, the safer plan is to give a second tie, leaving 

 it a little looser than the first. This second tie may 

 be removed later in the autumn, or allowed to re- 

 main till the spring. 



Keeping the Buds Dormant. — It is of 



almost "vital importance that this should be done. 

 Some budders pride themselves on flowering their 

 buds the same season. This may easily be done, 

 but is bad form in budding, and may often weaken 

 and greatly shorten the life of the plant. To have 



