Pomona College Journal of Economic Botany 



163 



the stock. If this piece of bark removed from the stock has a bud in the central 

 part^ the wood exposed to view will fit better with the section of bark to be applied. 

 When the section has been put in place^ with a small brush apply a light coating 

 of liquid grafting wax in which there is a large quantity of resin^ to the cut parts^, 

 and immediately tie firmly with thick pieces of raffia ; then an 8-inch wide strip of 

 strong wrapping paper wound round and round the stem a few inches above the 

 bud^ and tied above with a cord^ completes the operation for the time being. 



"If good material is selected and the operation carefully carried .out at the 

 proper time_, there is no reason why a high percentage of successful unions should 

 not be secured." 



Shield Budding: In I91O the Hawaii Agricultural Experiment Station 

 issued a bulletin [Shield Budding the Mango (Bui. No. 20, Hawaii 

 Ag. Ex. Station)^ Honolulu. I9IO] by Mr. J. E. Higgins^ describing a 

 method of shield budding successfully practiced by him. Shield budding has 

 several adA antages over patch budding, the chief being that the buds can be set 

 much more rapidly, and do not require skilled labor for the wrapping. If it can 

 be successfully practiced here, it should be by far the most desirable method for 

 nursery propagation. Mr, Higgins describes the process as follows : 



"Budding by this method has been successfully performed on stocks from an 

 inch to three inches in diameter. What the limitations are, on either side of these 

 dimensions, is not known at present. Wood of this size, in seedling trees, may 

 be from two to five years old. It is essential that the stocks be in a thrifty condi- 

 tion, and still more important that they should be in 'flush'. If not in this 

 condition, the bark will not readily separate from the stock. It has been found 

 that the best time is when the terminal buds are just opening. Unless the trees 

 are watched carefully they will pass this stage before the flush is observed. When 

 the young, brown leaves have appeared it is often too late to bud, and the operation 

 must be postponed until the next flush. 



"The budwood which has been most successfully used is that which has lost 

 most of its leaves and is turning brown or gray in color. Such wood is usually 

 about an inch in diameter. It is not necessary in this method of budding that the 

 budwood shall be in a flushing condition, although it may be an advantage to have 

 it so. It should, however, be healthy wood of normal growth. 



"The incision should be made in the stock about six inches in length. At the 

 lower end of this make an incision at right-angles to it, with the knife edge pointing 

 upwards at an angle of about forty-five degrees with the stock, thus making a 

 curved incision. Insert the sharpened end of the handle of the budding knife 

 beneath the bark at the junction of these incisions, and push it gently upward, 

 raising the bark so as to make a place for the bud. It is not necessary to push 

 the handle far, but by gently prying, the bark may be separated from the stock, 

 if the latter is in proper condition, without injuring the delicate cells against 

 which the bud shield is to be placed. 



"The bud is now to be removed from the budwood. With a rather heavier 

 knife than is generally used for budding, in the right hand, and the budwood held 

 firmly in the left, place the blade against the budwood with a very slight inclina- 



