THE HANDLING OF THE PLANTS 



153 



stock, and it is held in place by tying with a soft strand. In two 

 or three weeks the bud will have ''stuck" (that is, it will have 

 grown fast to the stock), and the strand is cut to prevent its 

 strangling the stock. Ordinarily the bud does not grow until 

 the following spring, at which time the entire stock or branch 

 in which the bud is inserted is cut off an inch above the bud; 

 and the bud thereby receives all the energy of the stock. Bud- 

 ding is the commonest grafting operation in nurseries. Seeds 

 of peaches may be sown in spring, and the plants which result 

 will be ready for budding that same August. The 

 following spring, or a year from the planting of the 

 seed, the stock is cut off just above the bud (which 

 is inserted near the ground), and in the fall of that 

 year the tree is ready for sale; that is, the top is one 

 season old and the root is two seasons old, but in the 

 trade it is known as a one-year-old tree. In the 

 Sou^h, the peach stock may be budded in June or 

 early July of the year in which the seed is planted, 

 and the bud grows into a saleable tree the same 

 year: this is known as June budding. In apples „,,,j,_ 

 and pears the stock is usually two years old before graft, 

 it is budded, and the tree is not sold until the top has grown 

 two or three years. Budding may be performed also in the 

 spring, in which case the bud will grow the same season. 

 Budding is always done on young growths, preferably on those 

 not more than one year old. 



Grafting is the insertion of a small branch (or cion) , usually 

 bearing more than one bud. If grafting is employed on small 

 stocks, it is customary to employ the whip-graft (Fig. 175). 

 Both stock and cion are cut across diagonally, and a split made 

 in each, so that one fits into the other. The graft is tied securely 

 with a string, and then, if it is above ground, it is also waxed 

 carefully. 



In larger limbs or stocks, the common method is to employ 



