20 



FRUIT TREES. 



ginning of September, according to the state of tlie 

 vegetation of the subject. The head of the stock must 

 not be cut off until the following spring, when it will 

 be seen whether the graft-bud has been successful. 

 The following are the principal points to be observed 

 in shield grafting : — 



1st. Cut from the tree a branch having some leaves 

 and eyes at its base, or buds well constituted ; take off 

 the leaves, leaving only a small piece of the stem, C 

 (fig. 23), of one of them, to hold the shield A by between 

 two fingers. Keep the grafts or buds, when thus pre- 

 pared, in a dark, cold, and damp place, until the time 

 that they are required for placing upon the stock. 



2nd. Make an incision, B, upon the subject, in the 

 form of a T, penetrating to the wood, and separate 

 with the spatula the two lips of the bark towards the 

 top. 



3rd. Separate the shield from its branch in such a 

 manner as to take off with the bark the smallest pos- 

 sible portion of the wood, preserving in every case the 

 green tissue behind the bud, as shown at fig. 24. 

 Unless this be attended to, the success of the graft is 

 impossible. 



4th. Slip in the shield between the bark and the 

 wood by means of the incision B (fig. 23) ; then bring 

 the edges of the bark together by means of a ligature, 

 in such a manner that the base of the bud press closely 

 to the wood of the stock ; this is an essential point 



5th. Some time after budding, look at the buds and 

 slacken the bandages if they have become too tight. 



6th. On the arrival of spring, if the buds have taken 



