tibe IRatfonal IRurser^imait 
FOR GROWERS AND DEALERS IN NURSERY STOCK 
The National Nurseryman Publishing Co., Incorporated 
Vol. XXII. 
ROCHESTER, N. Y., APRIL, 1914. 
No. 4. 
NUT TREE BUDDING. 
By CHARLES L. EDWARDS, Dallas, Texas. 
It is eoininonly known that most fruit trees are pro- 
])agate(l ])y what is called the shield bnd. It is taken 
from the scion of a desired variety by a cut from be¬ 
low upward, as shown in the first illnstration. But 
this method jtroved imsnccessfnl in working itecans 
and other nnt trees. We all tried it and after con¬ 
tinued failure gave it np. There was bonnd to be a 
reason for this behavior, but what was it ? This 
(piestion was puzzling. 
i\Iost of us knew that nut trees have thicker l)ark 
than the fruit trees. Some two years ago the thought 
occurred that i)ossibly the failure of the shield bud in 
])ecan work lay in this fact, and since the shield bud 
is the simplest known form of artificial pro])agation, 
it would be a helpful thing to muster it into service. 
'’Lhe first move was to cut some buds from a pecan 
scion and a peach scion and look at both from the in¬ 
side. There was not only a marked difference in 
thickness of l)ark, buf at the lower end of the pecan 
bud there was a thick, fleshy rim of bark extending 
well below the film of wood on the inner side. The 
conclusion was then reached that perhaps this thick 
rim of bark ])revented the flow of sap from the seed¬ 
ling stock into the bud ])iece, causing it to perish for 
want of nourishment. The next thought was that if 
this rim of bark at the lower ends of both pecan and 
walnut buds, when cut shield fashion, were pjired oft 
hy downward, sloping cuts, as shown in my illustra¬ 
tions, the trouble would lie overcome. Fk)r, when in¬ 
serted nnder the bark of the stock after this prepara¬ 
tion, the inside bark of the bud piece, where the cuts 
were made at the lower end, would l)e brought into 
contact with the inner bark of the stock, d his would 
enable say) from the stock to enter the bud, hov 
through and give it life. 
A HAPPY SOLUTION. 
These conjectures, fornndated in winter, were first 
tried out in the ensuing si)ring of 1912, and what is 
now called the “modified shield bud” ])roved a suc¬ 
cess from the start. It may be admitted, too, that m} 
ehition was hardly less than that of Alexander on cut¬ 
ting the Gordian knot, for it o])ened up an easy route 
for the concpiest, not of Asia, but of the y:)ecan grovth 
of the ^Southwest. Trial of it from .March until Oc¬ 
tober during last vear and the vear l)efore, whenever 
bark would slip freely, on pecan and walnut stocks 
gave such results that 1 have not hesitated to recom¬ 
mend it to veteran oy)erators as well as to raw begin¬ 
ners. A number of ])rogressive nurserymen have 
adoy)ted it and are producing salable trees at a better 
margin of i)rofit than formerly. And it does seem 
that any citizen having native nut trees of suitable 
sizes ought to be able with the hel]) of my drawings to 
do his own budding, ^die carelessness and want of 
attention to instructions on the y)art of some men- 
folks cause failure, but so far as my information goes 
every woman making a trial has been successful. 
FYr sy)ringtime work, bud wood is cut along to¬ 
ward the latter end of FYbruarv or earlv in IMarcli, 
but always and everywhere before say) begins to rise. 
This is called “dormant” bud wood. The switches 
are usually about two feet in length and may be key)t 
in good condition for sixty days and more by sticking 
the butts six to eight inches into loose, well-spaded 
soil on the north side of a wall or at the north gable 
end of a building. This is to y)rotect the buds from 
sunshine and keey) them cool, so that they will remain 
dormant. If there is considerable rainfall the 
switches should be sheltered, else excessive moisture 
will cause them to s])rout and sy)oil. AVhere fresh 
sawdust is handy the bud switches may ])e y)acked in 
moist but not wet sawdust and key)t in a cool, shaded 
y:»lace. Simy)le as these directions are, they are sel¬ 
dom followed; l)ut buyers of l)ud wood show an apti¬ 
tude for sy)oiling it tliat entitles them to a ])Osition 
near the head of the class of really talented blunder¬ 
ers. 
In working dormant buds the film of wood taken 
off in cutting the bud from the scion should be only 
thick enough to y^rotect the germ of the bud. IV hen 
a thick plug of wood is taken out with the bud there 
will be a bad fit at the upy)er end, and this will al¬ 
most surely result in loss. In s])ringtime work the 
bud wood should be three-eighths of an inch in diam¬ 
eter and upward. In working wood of smaller sizes 
the loss ratio is increased. The small ends of the 
