4 
BI'LLETIX 334, V. S. DEPAKTMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. 
purposes is from the middle of July to the end of August. The ordi- 
nary method of shield budding, with dry and unwaxed raffia, wrap- 
ping, has proved the most successful of all the methods tried. The 
best wood on which to bud is the lower portion of vigorous basal 
shoots of the season, especially those from plants that were cut to 
the stump in the preceding winter. On such shoots the bark can 
be lifted with ease much later in the season than on older stems. 
Special care must be taken that the raffia wrapping does not become 
wet and fermentation ensue between the raw surfaces of bud and 
stock, in the first three weeks. By that time, in normal cases, the 
bud wood has imited with the stock, and if the budded stem has in- 
creased in diameter sufficiently to cause pronounced choking by the 
raffia the wrapping should be removed. If choking does not occur 
the wrapping may be allowed to remain imtil spring, when the stem 
is cut off above the still dormant bud. In greenhouse experiments, 
a growth of over 8 feet has been secured from an inserted bud in its 
first growing season, all other growth from the stock having been 
promptly rubbed off' as soon as it started. 
STUMPING. 
The easiest way to propagate the swamp blueberry is by a special 
process of layering named stumping.*' The directions are as follows : 
1. In late fall, winter, or spring, preferably in early spring before the buds 
have begun to push, cut off at the surface of the ground either the whole of 
the plant or as many of the stems as it is desired to devote to this method of 
propagation. The stems that are cut off are discarded, or they may be used 
for cuttings, as described imder Tubering " or " Winter cuttings." 
2. Cover the stumps to the depth of 2 to 3 inches with a mixture of clean 
sand and sifted peat, 2 to 4 parts of sand to 1 of peat, by bulk. A rough box or 
frame may be built on the ground to keep the sand bed in place. 
3. Care must be taken that the sand bed be not allowed to become dry 
except at the surface during the summer. 
4. The new growth from the stumps, which without the sand would consist 
of stems merely, is transformed in working its way through the sand bed into 
scaly, erect, or nearly erect rootstocks which, on reaching the surface of the 
sand, continue their development into leafy shoots. (See PI. II.) Although 
roots are formed only sparingly on the covered bases of stems, they develop 
abundantly during spring and early summer on these artificially produced 
rootstocks, and by the end of autumn all the shoots should be well rooted at 
the base. They should remain in place in the sand bed till late winter or 
early spring, undisturbed and exi^osed to outdoor freezing temperatures; but 
the sand should be mulched with leaves, preferably those of red oaks. 
5. Early in the following spring, before the buds have begtm to push, open 
the bed and sever each rooted shoot carefully from the stump. Discard the 
upper portion of the shoot, making the cut at such a point as to leave on the 
basal portion about three buds above the former level of the sand bed. If the 
cut at the basal end of the rooted shoot is not smooth or the wood is cracked, 
recut the surface with a sharp thin-bladed knife. The discarded upper por- 
tion of the shoot may be used for winter cuttings, as described on pages 8 to 11. 
6. Set the rooted shoots in a coldframe or a cool greenhouse in clean earthen- 
ware pots of suitable size, ordinarily 3-inch pots, in a soil mixture consisting of 
two parts, by bulk, of rotted upland peat and one part of sand. 
