34 



ORANGE CULTURE, 



And now, at last, we come to the practical details of the ac- 

 tual art, for it is an art, of budding. 



There are several modes of introducing the scion to the stock 

 of these there is one largely practiced, we are sorry to say, that 

 cannot be reprehended too severely. A man cuts off a short stick 

 containing two or three buds, shapes one end to a flat point, like 

 a pen, then make a little cut crosswise in the stock, thrusts the 

 " pen-bud " down into the slit, and passes on to scar another tree 

 and waste another bud, boasting of how many he can do in an 

 hour. True, it is a quick way of playing at budding — in one 

 sense — but when, by and by, he comes back again and again to- 

 replace dead buds and search for fresh spots on the poor devoted 

 stock, where its once smooth bark is not at all roughened and 

 scared by old wounds ; if then, we repeat Jie will only keep count- 

 of the time thus occupied after the Avork should have been com- 

 pleted, and the time lost in the growth of the buds while the sea- 

 son is passing relentlessly on, he will come to the conclusion that 

 a little more time and care in the hrst place, would have been time 

 and trouble saved, and loss of buds, and of the growing season 

 saved also. And therefore we would banish the pen-buds," as 

 the resource of lazy, ne'er-do-wells Avho will reap as they sow. 



The one kind of budding that is pre-eminent over all others 

 for its invariable success, if properly done, is called " shield-bud- 

 ding." 8ee that your stock is cleared of all twigs that may in- 

 terfere with the wrappings and then make a perpendicular slit 

 about an inch and a half long, about four to six inches above the 

 ground, then make another cut across at the base, the two cuts 

 presenting the appearance of the letter T reversed thus ; the 

 cross-cut is often made at the top, but it is not the best way. 

 Now pass the point of your knife, or the flat handles if it is a 

 regular budding knife, carefully along the upright cut, slightly 

 raising the edges, giving the knife a certain little twist, easily 

 learned, at the base, so as to leave the corners a little turned back, 

 like the " dog ears " of a book. Now take your knife, and care- 

 fully cut off a bud from your " stick," take as little of the wood 

 as possible, and let the back extend about half an inch below 

 and above the bud; now take this little strip in you hand, and, 



