154 



fhuits. 



[chap. 



and a half below the bud, to about an inch above it, suffering your 

 knife to go through the bark and about half way into the wood, 

 cutting out wood and all. This keeping of the wood prevents the 

 bud and its bark from drying while you are preparing the incision 

 in the stock ; and, if you wish to carry buds of scarce sorts to any 

 distance, you may do so safely by putting their ends in water or in 

 damp moss, but it is always safer, as well in grafting as in budding, 

 to perform the operation with as much expedition as possible, 

 but particularly it is so in budding. 



216. Operation of budding. Cut off the leaf under whicji the 

 bud is seated, but leave its foot-stalk {pi. 5^ fig. 2, a), and by this, 

 hold it between your lips while, with your budding-knife, you cut 

 two straight lines in the stock at the place where you wish to insert 

 the bud, and this should be at a place where the bark is smooth, 

 free from any bruises or knots, and on the side rather from the 

 mid-day sun. Of these lines, let the first be horizontal {pi. 5, 

 fig. 1, «), and let the next be longitudinal, beginning at the middle 

 of the first cut, and coming downward {pi. o,fig. 1, h). Let 

 them, in short, describe the two principal bars of the Roman letter 

 T. You have now to take out from the bark, on which your bud 

 is, the piece of wood on which the bark is, and which has served 

 you up to this time, to preserve the bark and bud from drying and 

 shrinking. But this is a nice matter. In doing it, ^ou must be 

 careful not to endanger the root, as it is called, of the bud, because 

 in that is its existence. The bark (if the season be proper for 

 budding) will easily detatch itself from this piece of wood, but still 

 it requires very careful handling to get it out without endangering 

 the root of the hud. Hold the bud upon your fore-finger, and keep 

 your thumb on the wood opposite ; then, vv^ith the fore-finger and 

 tfiumb of the other hand, bend backward and forward the lower 

 end of the shield, and thus coax the wood to disengage itself from 

 the bark ; and when you find it decidedly doing so, remove your 

 thumb from it, and the whole piece of wood will come out, leaving 

 you nothing but a piece of bark of about two and a half inches 

 long, with a bud and foot-stalk of a leaf on it. If the root of the 

 bud be carried away with the piece of wood, you will perceive a 

 small cavity where it ought to be. In this case, throw away the 

 bud and try another. 



217. Having succeeded in a second attempt, now open the two 

 sides of the longitudinal bar of the T, with the ivory haft of your 



