VI.] PROPAGATION. ]c>5 



budding-knife (pi. o,Jig. I, h), but, in doing this, raise the bark 

 clearly down to the wood, for the inside of the piece of bark be- 

 longing to the bud must be placed directly against this. Having 

 opened these sides wide enough to receive the longest end of bark, 

 insert it nicely : taking especial care that its inner side lie flatly 

 against the wood of the stock. Then cut the upper end of the bark 

 off so that its edge shall meet precisely the edge of the horizontal 

 bar of the T (pi. 5, fig. 1, «). With your finger and thumb, 

 bring the two sides of the longitudinal bar over the bark of the 

 bud, or rather the shield, and, with a piece of well-soaked matting, 

 begin an inch below this bar, and bind firmly all the way up to an 

 inch above the horizontal bar, taking good care to leave the bud 

 peeping out. Bind in such a ^^ ay as to exclude the air, for that is 

 the intent of binding in this case. Tie your piece of matting ou 

 first, and then wind it round and round the stock as you would a 

 ribbon, taking care not to twist the matting. Wind it slowly, and 

 every time you have gone completely round, give a gentle pull to 

 make it firm. 



^18. Future treatment. — In a fortnight's time from the opera- 

 tion, you will discover whether the bud have taken, by its round- 

 ness and healthy look ; and, in a fortnight after that, loosen the 

 bandage to allow the whole plant to swell ; and, in about five 

 weeks from the time of budding, take away the bandage altogether. 

 In this state the plant passes the winter, and, just as the sap begins 

 to be in motion, in the following spring, you head down the stock 

 at about half an inch above the bud, beginning behind it, and 

 making a sloping cut upward to end above its point. Some gar- 

 deners leave a piece of the stock about six inches long for the first 

 year, in order to tie the first summer's shoot to it, to prevent its 

 being broken off by the wind. This may be well, when the plant 

 is exposed to high winds, but, even then, if you see danger, you 

 may tie a short stick on the top part of the stock, and to this tie 

 the young shoot, and then the sap all goes into the shoots from the 

 bud, instead of being divided between it and the six inches of 

 stock left in the other way. 



219. There are some advantages that hudding has over graft- 

 ing , and these I think it right to mention. In the first place, uni- 

 versal experience has proved that certain trees succeed veiy much 

 better when budded than the same trees do when grafted : such 

 are the peach, nectarine, apricot, plum, and cherry ; indeed, the 



