316 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[August, 
against the tree. An old fashioned step-ladder, 
made with wide steps, so that the feet of the picker 
will not soon get tired, is one of the best. Let the 
upper step be made broad, to hold a basket; one 
with a ladder of this kind, and with a hooked stick 
to pull the branches to him, can reach the choice 
fruits which grow on the outer branches. 
Propagation by Itntiding. 
As a school-master is obliged to begin each year 
with a primary class, so in a journal like ours, it 
is necessary to now and then repeat certain rudi¬ 
mentary lessons. There are many—probably the 
majority—of our readers who look to the American 
Agriculturist as the sole source of their information 
Fig. 1.— A BUDDING KNIFE. 
in all that relates to agriculture and horticulture. 
When these ask us to tell them howto layer plants, 
how to prune, how to graft and to bud, and to do 
other operations, they will not be satisfied if we 
refer them to certain books for their information. 
Grafting and Budding 
have the same end in view, and the operations are 
essentially the same, but differ greatly both in the 
mauner and the time of performing them. In 
both, budding and grafting, we place a variety that 
we know and wish to increase, upon a tree of the 
variety of which we know nothing. It is a well 
known fact that our esteemed varieties of fruit are 
in an unnatural condition ; so that when we plant 
the seeds of these, there is no certainty that the 
trees thus produced will bear fruit like the parent 
tree—that from which the seed was taken. The 
seedlings of our cultivated fruits may produce bet¬ 
ter kinds than those from which the seed was taken, 
but generally the fruit will be poorer, and there is 
no certainty about it. It is on account of this un¬ 
certainty that we propagate the varieties that we 
know, by grafting or budding them upon seedlings 
about which we know nothing. In grafting, we 
use a cion, a twig upon which are several buds, of a 
known variety, and insert it upon a tree raised 
from seed. We plant this cion, or cutting, not in 
the soil, where it may take root, but upon a tree 
which already has roots. In budding, we plant a 
single bud upon another 'tree. The operation of 
Budding is Sometimes Called Inoculating, 
and the use of this term, “ inoculating,” has given 
rise to au incorrect popular notion. In the inocu¬ 
lating of animals, including the human subject, we 
introduce a virus, or disease, which affects the 
whole system, and causes certain changes to take 
place within it. Many 
have an idea that in 
“ inoculating ” a plant, 
a similar influence is ex¬ 
erted, and that the na¬ 
ture of the plant is 
somehow so changed by 
the operation, that it 
will afterwards bear 
good fruit. This view 
of “inoculation,” or 
budding, is entirely er¬ 
roneous. Had the bud 
been left on the tree 
which bore it, it would 
have expanded, and 
pushed from it a green 
shoot, which in time 
would ripen and become 
a branch, and ultimately 
bear fruit. When we remove the bud from its tree, 
and plant it in another tree, it expands, a shoot ap¬ 
pears; this grows and branches, and the bud, in time, 
becomes the tree, as all the rest of the tree in which 
it was planted is cut away. In budding, we need 
The Stock and the Buds. 
The stock, or plant in which we insert the bud, is a 
young tree of the same kind as the bud, or of a 
nearly related kind. Peach, Plum, and many other 
stocks are young trees raised from seeds ; other 
stocks, as the Quince for budding the Pear, and 
those for the Dwarf or Paradise Apple, are young 
trees produced by layering. In budding the Peach, 
the stocks are from seeds planted the spring of the 
same year; the plants, with good cultivation, will 
be large enough to bud in August or September. 
Apple stocks and others grow for two or more 
years. But we must now assume that one 
has his stocks ready; the next step is 
The Selection of the Buds. 
It is all important that the buds be true to name ; 
hence they should be taken from bearing trees. 
When a fruit tree has completed its growth for the 
season, that is, when the branches have ceased to 
increase in length, there then appears in the axil 
of each leaf—the angle where the leaf joins the 
stem—a bud. Examine any shoot of the current 
season’s growth, and these buds will be found; 
those near the end cf the shoot will be immature, 
those at its base small and poorly developed, while 
between these extremes will be several well- 
formed, plump buds. In securing the buds, take 
always the shoots that have grown this year. 
Such sticks of buds may be cut, and if prevented 
from drying, may be kept in good condition for a 
week or ten days. When the shoots are cut, the 
leaves should at once be removed by cutting 
through the petiole, or leaf-stalk, half of which 
should remain attached to the shoot. Such sticks 
of buds may be kept in damp moss, damp sawdust, 
or be wrapped in wet cloths. If simply moistened 
and inclosed in a tight tin box, they will keep well. 
The Time for Budilins 
varies with the kind of fruit, the locality, and the 
season. The usual succession is Plum, Pear on 
Pear stocks, Apple, Cherry, Pear on Quince, and 
Peach. The precise time for each kind is, when 
the bark on the stock will “ run,”—that is, when it 
will readily part from the wood, this being the 
condition necessary in the stock; of course the 
buds must be plump and well formed. 
The Operation of Budding 
is a very simple one, and those who make a busi¬ 
ness of it become very rapid budders. In the 
largest nursery in the Southern States, the best 
budder is one who was formerly a slave. In the 
large Peach nurseries, the budder has two assist¬ 
ants ; one goes ahead and prepares the stocks, by 
rubbing or cutting off twigs, and removing leaves 
from the place where the bud is to go ; the other 
follows and ties the buds. Of course the ama¬ 
teur who inserts but a few buds, will perform 
all these operations for himself. It is a matter 
of importance to put the bud on the right side of 
the stock. If the rows run east and west, the bud 
is inserted on the north side, and when they run 
north and south, on the west side. It is also im¬ 
portant to insert the bud as low down on the stock 
as a proper place can be found for it. 
The Budding-Knife 
is the only implement used in budding, and every 
budder has his own notions as to the proper form 
of the blade. Budding-knives, like that in fig. 1, 
are made with a thin ivory point at the end, for 
the purpose of lifting the bark, but experienced 
budders use the blade for both making the cuts 
and lifting the bark. The first step is, to select 
the place for the insertion of the bud. Two cuts 
are made upon the stock, down through the bark 
to the wood ; one crosswise, and the other extend¬ 
ing from this downwards, forming a T-like incis¬ 
ion, as in tig. 2. Figure 3 shows the corners of the 
bark lifted, ready for the bud. The bud is now to 
be separated from the stick, though some budders 
first cut the bud, and hold it between the lips until 
they have made the cuts upon the stock. Figure 
4 shows the manner of removing the bud from the 
stick; the knife enters at A half an inch above 
the bud, and, by a downward cut, comes out at B 
three-quarters of an inch below it. In making this 
Fig. 6. Fig. 7. Fig. 8. 
cut to remove the bud, as little wood as possible is 
to be taken off with it. When the bud is removed, 
it will consist of, besides the bud itself, a shield of 
bark, a portion of petiole or leaf-stalk that has 
been left attached, and a small portion of wood re¬ 
moved in the cutting, as in fig. 5. European bud¬ 
ders direct the removal of the attached piece of 
wood, but our budders pay little attention to it, as 
unless it parts very readily from the shield of bark, 
the base of the bud may be injured by its removal. 
Holding the shield of bark and its bud by the leaf¬ 
stalk as a handle, it is placed in the incision (fig. 3), 
and pushed well down. If the stock is in the right 
condition for budding, the pushing of the bud to 
its place will be easily done, and the bark upon the 
stock need only to be lifted at the comers of the 
cut, to allow of the entrance of the shield ; the 
bark at the upper end of the shield is then cut 
square across, so that it may fit the horizontal cut 
on the stock. Figure 6 shows the bud in place, 
and ready to be tied. The tying material is usually 
bass-bark, moistened to make it flexible ; woollen 
and cotton yarn are both used, and some budders 
use thin and flexible corn-husks, selected from the 
interior layers at husking time. Figure 7 shows 
one method of tying buds, and fig. 8 another. In 
all cases, the object is to hold the parts in closest 
possible contact, and yet not injure the bud. In 
about 10 days, or two weeks, after the insertion, 
the buds must be looked to; the stock is still 
growing, and a serious strangulation may occur if 
the ties are left as they were applied. At this time 
it may be ascertained if the operation has been 
successful, or if the bud has “ taken.” If the bud 
and its bark look shrivelled, and the attached leaf¬ 
stalk is still remaining and dead, the operation has 
failed. If, however, the bud is still plump, the 
shield of bark bright, and the bit of leaf-stalk has 
dropped, the operation is successful. In case of 
failure, and the stock is still in good condition, 
another bud may be inserted ; otherwise the stock 
may be left until next spring, and then be grafted. 
When the buds are found to be all right, the tie 
may be loosened, or cut through, to allow of the 
growth of the stock. The inexperienced will do 
better to loosen the knot sufficiently to allow of 
the increase in diameter of the stock, but retain 
the tie to protect the bud until later. When a bud 
has taken, and the ties loosened, nothing more is 
to be done until the following spring, when all of 
the stock above the bud is to be cut away. It is, 
of course, important to properly label the budded 
trees, that the kind of bud inserted may be known. 
In nurseries, this is done by labelling the rows, but 
