14 
COLORADO EXPERIMENT STATION 
budding. A simpler method of lifting the bud, at least for the begin¬ 
ner, is to start the knife as before, and cut sharply into the wood to 
about one-third the diameter of the stick and then upward under the 
bud making a tongue about an inch long. The knife is then run across 
the tongue half an inch above the bud, cutting through and lifting the 
bark at this point. The bud is then grasped between the thumb and 
first finger and lifted, leaving the wood on the stick, as shown in the 
same figure. While the removal of the wood from under the bud is no 
particular advantage, the method is simpler and gives the inexperienced 
budder a larger per cent, of good buds. The writer has lifted thous¬ 
ands of buds in this manner with the best of success. It is difficult to 
cut buds in this way from some varieties of cherry and plum trees with 
thin bark, but it works well on the apple, pear, peach, apricot and the 
heavy-barked plum. The bud is then slipped into place as shown in 
the figure and well wrapped with raffia or soft wrapping twine. About 
four wraps below and three above, so spaced as to close the whole 
opening, is sufficient. In wrapping, the common practice is to start 
below, and by crossing over the first end and running the last end 
under, the bud is wrapped without a knot. The tying material is usually 
cut in the desired lengths beforehand, and if raffia is used, it should 
be kept moist, as it ties better. 
If on healthy young wood, the buds will unite within ten days 
or two weeks. Then the wrapping should be cut by drawing a 
knife across it on the side of the stock opposite the bud. Should the 
stock be making a slow growth, there need be no hurry about cut¬ 
ting the tie. The only thing to be guarded against is that the wrap 
does not cut into the bark. This pressure interferes with the flow 
of sap, and tends to throw the bud into premature growth, this 
often means a loss of the September bud. The bud set in August 
and September should remain dormant over winter. The following 
spring, just as soon as the bud's on the top of the stock begin to 
push out, the original top of the stock is cut away. Should the 
stock be cut off too early in the spring, or too close, there is danger 
of the stub drying out to the injury of the bud. Some recommend 
the practice of leaving a longer stub to which the young growing 
shoot from the bud may be tied until it is well established. This saves 
some buds from being blown out, but necessitates a second cutting 
in mid-summer to allow the stub to heal over. 
We have said that buds for fall budding should be taken from 
the current year’s growth. The common practice is to cut the ter¬ 
minal growth from bearing trees. The leaves are trimmed off at 
once, leaving a small part of the leaf-stalk to handle the bud by. 
Bud-sticks trimmed in this way may be stored in a cool, damp place 
and kept for some time without injury. The leaf-stalks, however, 
will losen and drop off in many cases if stored over ten days. Of 
course, this does no harm, but some budders miss the little handle 
in inserting the bud. The first few buds at the base of the stick are 
generally poorly developed and should be discarded while those near 
the tip are too immature to be used. As a rule not over half of the new 
growth cut in early September will carry buds suitable for budding. The 
sticks should be carried in a damp cloth to avoid drying out. 
