BUCKWHEAT. (See Supplement.) BUD. Weaned calf of the first year, from the horns then beginning to bud or shoot. In plants, the germ and envelopes for the succeeding year's growth.
Budding is not now practised to so great an extent as formerly, since with ordinary fruits, especially the pip fruits, grafting is fully as good, and very much faster, especially i since the introduction of improved grafting im plements. Budding. sometimes called inoculat ing, is the insertion of a single eye or bud under the bark,, and is practised with the peach and other stone fruits, and in the multiplication of varieties, when the economy of buds is an object. It is also practised by florists, more especially with roses and all that class of stock.• Among the advantages of this method is, under expert hands, certainty of growth and rapid perform ance. It may be practised during a long season, according to the variety of trees and plants to be operated upon. Upon this subject Dr. Warder says: It has been claimed on behalf of the process of budding, that trees, which have been worked in this method, are more hardy and better able to resist the severity of winter than others of the same varieties, which have been grafted in the root or collar, and also that budded trees come sooner into bearing. Their general hardiness will probably not be at all affected by their manner of propagation; except, perbary-t, where there may happen to be a marked difference in the habit of the stock, such, for instance, as maturity early in the season, which would have a tendency to check the late growth of the scion placed upon it—the supplies of sap being diminished, instead of continuing to flow into the graft, as it would do from the roots of the cutting or root-graft of a variety which was inclined to make a late autumnal growth. Prac tically, however, this does not have much weight, nor can we know, in a lot of seedling stocks, which will be the late feeders, and which will go into an early summer rest. Mr. A. R. Whitney, of Franklin Grove, Ill., a thor oughly observing man and successful orchardist, holds that certain varieties of our cultivated fruits are found to have a remarkable tendency to make an extended and very thrifty growth, which, continuing late in the autumn, would appear to expose the young trees to a very severe trial upon the access of the first cold weather, and we often find them very seriously injured under such circumstances; the bark is frequently split and ruptured for several inches near the ground. The twigs, still covered with abundant foliage, are so affected by the frost that their whole outer surface is shriveled, and the inner bark and wood are browned; the latter often becomes permanently blackened, and re mains as dead matter in the centre of the tree, for death does not necessarily ensue. Intelligent nurserymen, have endeavored to avoid losses from these causes by budding such varieties upon strong, well-established stocks, though they are aware that these are not more hardy than some of the cultivated varieties; a given num ber of seedling stocks has been found to suffer as much from the severity of winter as do a similar amount of the grafted varieties taken at random. In relation to the philosophy of bud ding, and its similarity to grafting, Dr. Warder says, the latter process is performed when the plant life is almost dormant, and the co-apted parts are ready to take the initiative steps of vegetation, and to effect their union by means of new adventitious cells, before the free flow of sap in the growing season. Budding, on the contrary, is done in the height of that season, and toward its close, when the plants are full of well matured and highly organized sap, when the cell circulation is most active, and the union between the parts is much more immediate than in the graft; were it not so, indeed, the little shield, with its actively evaporating surface, of young bark, must certainly perish from exposure to a hot, dry atmosphere. The cambium, or gelatinous matter, which is discovered between the bark and the wood when they are separated, is a mass of organizable cells. Budding is most successfully performed when this matter is abundant, for then the vitality of the tree is in greatest degree of exaltation. Mr. A. T. Thom son, in his lectures on the Elements of Botany, says: The individuality of buds must have been suspected as early as the discover y of the art of budding, and it is fully proved by the dissection of plants. Budding is founded on the fact that the bud, which is a branch in embryo, is a distinct individual. It is essential that both the bud and the tree into which it is inserted, should not only be analogous in their character, as in, grafting with the scion but both must be in a state of growth at the time the operation is performed. The union, how ever, depends much more upon the bud than upon the stock—the bud may be considered a centre of vitality—vegetative action commences in the bud and extends to the stock, connecting them together. The vital energy, however, which commences the process of organization in the bud, is not necessarily confined to the germ, nor distinct from that which maintains the growth of the entire plant; but it is so connected with organization, that, when this has prot seeded a certain length, the bud may be re moved from the parent and attached to another, where it will become a branch the same as if it had not been removed. The season for budding is usually in midsummer and the early part of autumn, reference being had to the condition of the plants to be worked; these should be in a thrifty, growing state, the woody fibre should be pretty well advanced, but growth, by exten sion must still be active, or the needful con ditions will not be found. The cambium must be present between the bark and the wood of the stock, so that the former can be easily separated from the latter; in the language of the art, the bark must " run; " this state of things will soon cease in most stocks, after the forma tion of terminal buds on the shoots. The suc cess of spring budding, however, would appear to indicate that the cambium layer is formed earlier in the season than is usually supposed; for whenever the young leaves begin to be developed on the stock, "the bark will run," and the buds may be inserted with a good pros pect of success. Ifi this case we are obliged to use dormant buds that were formed the previous year,and we should exercise judgment and i care in the preservation of the scions, to keep them hack by the application of cold, until the time of their insertion. The condition of the bud, says Dr. Warder, in American Pomology, is also important to the success of the operation. The tree from which we cut the scions should be in a growing state, though this is not so essential as in the case of the stock, as has been seen in spring budding—still a degree of activity is de sirable. The young shoot should have perfected its growth to such an extent as to have deposited Aft woody fibre; it should not be too succulent; but the essential condition is, that it should have its buds well developed. These, as every one knows, are formed in the axils of the leaves, and, to insure success, they should be plump and well grown. In those fruits which blossom on wood shoots of the previous year's growth, as the peach and apricot, the blossom buds should be avoided; they are easily recognized by their greater size and phimpness. In cutting scions, or bud-sticks, the most vigorous shoots should be avoided, they are too soft and pithy; the close-jointed, firnt shoots, of medium size, are much to be preferred, as they have well developed buds, which appear to have more Vitality. Such scions are found at the ends of the lateral branches. These need immediate attention, or they will be lost. The evaporation of their juices through the leaves would soon cause them to wither and wilt, and become useless. These appendages are, therefore, immediately removed by cutting the petiole from a quarter to half an inch from the scion; a por tion of the stem is thus left as a convenient 'han dle when inserting the shield, and this also serves afterwards as an bides to the condition of the bud. So soon as trimmed of their leaves, the scions are tied up, and enveloped loosely in a damp cloth, or in moss, or fresh grass, to exclude them from the air. If they should become wilted, they must not be put into water, as this injures them; it is better to sprinkle the cloth and tie them up tightly, or they may be restored by burying them in moderately moist ,earth. The early gardeners were very particular as to the kind of weather upon which to do their budding. They recommended a cloudy or a showery day, or the evening, in order to avoid the effects of the hot sunshine. This might do in a small garden, where the operator could select his opportunity to bud a few dozen stocks; but even there, wet weather should be avoided rather than courted. But, in the large commercial nurseries, where tens of thousands of buds are to he inserted, there can be no choice of weather; indeed, many nur serymen prefer bright sunshine and the hottest weather, as they find no inconvenience arising to the trees from this source. Some even aver that their success is better under such circumstances, and argue that the pulp is richer. Most trees, in their mature state, make all their growth by ex tension or elongation very early in the season, by one push, as it were; with the first unfolding of the leaves, comes also the elongation of the twig that bears them. In most adult trees in a state of nature, there is no further growth in this way, but the internal changes of the sap continue to be effected among the cells during the whole period of their remaining in leaf, during which, there is a continual flow of crude sap absorbed by the roots, and taken up into the organism, of the tree, to aid in the perfection of the various parts, and in the preparation of the proper juice and the several products peculiar to the tree, as well as its wood and fruits. When all this is transpiring within its economy, the tree is said to be in its full flow of sap; at this stage the young tree is in the best condition for budding, but it continues also, if well cultivated, to grow by extension for a Fester or shorter portion of the season, and this is essential to the success of the operation as stated. After the perfecting of the crop of fruit, the main work of the tree seems to have been done for the year, and we often observe, particularly with the summer fruits, that the trees appear to r to rest after this period, and begin to cast their foliage. Now, to a certain extent,
this is true of the young trees. The varieties that ripen their fruit early, make their growth in the nursery in the early portion of the summer, they stop growing, and their terminal bud is formed and is conspicuous at the top of the shoots. Very soon the supply. of sap appears to be diminished, there is no longer so much activity in the circulation, the bark cleaves to the wood, it will no longer run, and the season of budding for those stocks has reached its terminus; hence, the nurseryman must be upon the look-out for the condition of his trees. Fortunately, those species which have the shortest season, are also the first to be ready, the first to mature their buds, and they must be budded first. We may com mence with the cherry, though the .Mahaleb stock, when it is used, continues in condition longer than other varieties, and may be worked late. The plum and pear stock also complete their growth at an early period in the season; the apple continues longer in good condition, and may be worked quite late. Grapes, if worked in this way, should be attended to about mid season, while they are still growing; but quinces and peaches may be kept in a growing state much later than most other stocks, and can be budded last of all. The stocks being in a suitable con dition, as above described, they should be trim med of their lateral shoots for a few inches from the ground. This may be done immediately in advance of the budder, or it may have been done a few days before the budding. The stock may be one year old, or two years; after this period they do not work so well. The usual method is to make a T incision through the bark of the stock, as low down as possible, but in a smooth piece of the •stem; some prefer to insert the shield just below the natural site of a bud. The knife should be thin and sharp, and if the stock be in good condition, it will pass through the bark with very little resistance; but if the stock is too dry, the experienced budder will detect it by the different feeling communicated through his knife, by the increased resistance to be over come in making the cut. The custom has been to raise the bark by inserting the haft of the bud ding-knife gently, so as to start the corners of the incision, preparatory to inserting the bud; but our best budders depend upon the shield separat ing the bark as it is introduced. The two illus trations will show the difference between budding and grafting, and also the manner of cutting the bud—the slit or nidus—f or insertion, and also the manner of tying, with bast or other soft sub stance, as the inner husk of corn, or woolen yarn, waxed. Some use strips of manilla tissue-paper covered with soft grafting-wax. (See also,. article Grafting.) Make a cut from the scion with the the knife used for budding, which is entered half an inch above the bud, and drawn downward about one-third the diameter of the scion, and brought out an equal distance below the bud; this makes the shield, or bud. Some authorities direct that the wood should be removed from the shield before it is inserted; this is a nice operation, requiring some dexterity to avoid injuring the base of the bud, which constitutes its connection with the medulla, or pith, within the stick. Various appliances have been in vented to aid in this separation; some use a piece of quill, others a kind of gouge; but if the bark run freely on the scion, there will be little diffi culty in separating the wood from the shield with the fingers alone. All this may be avoided by adopting what is called the American method of budding, which consists in leaving the wood in the shield, as shown in the cut, that should be cut thinner, and is then inserted be neath the bark without any difficulty, and may be made to fit closely enough for all practical purposes. In budding, it is found that the upper end of the shield is the last to adhere to the stock; it needs to be closely applied and pressed by the bandage, and if too long, so as to project above the transverse incision, it should be cut off. Tying should be done as soon as conven ient after the buds have been inserted; though under very favorable circumstances the bud may adhere and do well without any bandaging; no one thinks of leaving the work without carefully tying in the buds, and most budders lay a great deal of stress upon the necessity for covering the whole shield and cut with a continuous bandag ing, that shall exclude the light, and air, and moisture. All ties should be loosened in the course of a couple of weeks, if the stocks be growing freely; otherwise they will injure the tree by strangulation. Sometimes it will be necessary to replace the bandage to prevent the effects of desiccation upon the bud; this is par ticularly the case with the cherry, and other fruits that are budded early; but the tie is often left on the stock all winter, as a sort of protec tion to the bud. When loosening the ties, the buds are inspected and their condition ascer tained; if they have failed, they may be replaced, the stocks continue in a suitable condition. his, very easy to tell the success of the budding; the portion of the petiole left upon the shield is a very good index; if the bud has withered, this will also be brown and will adhere firmly to the shield; but, on the contrary, the bud and its shield having formed a union with the stock, the leaf-stock remains plump, but changes color. Like a leaf-stem in the autumn, it assumes the tint of ripeness, and it will separate with a touch, and soon falls off. The common method of re moving the ties is to cut them with a single stroke of a sharp knife, when the bandage is left to fall off. Mr. Knight recommended two dis tinct ligatures, and left the oue above the bud for a longer time uncut. When the buds have not been very fully developed, and when the stadia are very thrifty, it sometimes happens that the excessive growth about the incisions, made for the insertion of the bud, completely cover up this little germ of a future tree, which is then said to be drowned. Judicious pinching and shortening of the stock will prevent this effect, but care is needed not to pursue such treatment too far. The stocks are generally headed back to within an inch or more of the bud, just as vegetation starts the next spring; but early-set buds may be headed back so soon as they have taken, and will often make a nice growth the same season. This, however, is not generally preferred, and a late start in the growing weather of our autumns is particularly avoided, as the young shoot will not become matured before winter, and may be entirely lost. Spring budding is sometimes desirable, either to fill up gaps in the nursery rows, or to secure varieties, the scions of which, may have been received too late for grafting, or when it is desirable to multiply them as much as possible, by making every bud grow. When the operation is to be performed in the spring, the scions must be kept back, by placing them in the ice-house until the stocks are in full leaf, when the bark will peel readily, and the buds may be inserted with a pretty fair prospect of success; of course, the American method must be used in this case. as the wood and bark of the dormant scion will not separate. The stocks should be cut down as early in the spring as the buds begin to swell, with a sharp knife, applied just above the bud, and on the same side; the whole upper portion of the stock must be removed by a clean cut; this is better than to leave a stump of three or four inches, as is often recommended, as a sup port to which to tie up the buds in their tender growth. All shoots from the stock should be rubbed out while young; this may need repeat ing a second time. If the stocks were strong the buds will make handsome, sturdy trees the first season; the branched form may be assisted by pinching the points when a few inches as recommended with the grafts. Two year old stocks should make pretty trees, at one year old from the bud. In propagation, the proper plan will be found to be as follows: Apple and pear; budding and grafting. Cherry mostly by bud ding, but succeeds well by grafting, if done very early. Peach and nectarine, by budding only at the North; often succeeds by grafting at the South. Plum, by grafting, and also by budding, if' the stocks are thrifty. Apricot, mostly by budding, sometimes by grafting. Almond, by budding, and sot/Mimes by grafting. Chestnut, by early grafting. Walnut, by early grafting, and by annual budding. Quince, by cuttings and grafting. Filbert, by suckers and layers. The finer sorts may be grafted on the more common, which reduces the size of the bush and makes them more prolific. Grape, by layers and cuttings; and, in rare instances, grafting is advantageously employed for new or rare sorts on old or wild stocks, producing rapid growth and early bearing. Raspberry and blackberry, by suckers, cuttings of roots, and layers: Goose berry and currant, by cuttings, and sometimes by layers. In relation to stocks: For standard or orchard-trees, the pear and apple are grafted or budded upon seedlings raised from pips of any thrifty sort of each of these fruits. The Mazzard and Black Heart furnish good stocks for grafting with the cherry. At the West, where the cherry is easily injured, stocks raised from seeds of the Dukes and Morellos are the hardiest for all kinds of cherries. The horse-plum makes a good stock when it will grow freely for this purpose; but, in localities where it will not, the wild or Canada plum, of the largest growing varieties, is a good substitute. The peach and nectarine are usually worked on common peach stocks; but they make very hardy trees on the hard-shelled almond; and, on the plum, the trees are hardy and of slower or more dwarfed growth. The apricot does well on the peach or plum, or on its own roots. Cultivators differ as to which is the best on all accounts. For dwarfs, the Angers or French quince, is used wholly for the pear. The Doucin and Paradise are employed for dwarfing apples; the former being for the larger or medium-sized dwarfs, and the latter for small ones, the apple-trees worked upon it not growing much larger than currant bushes. The Mahaleb is used for dwarf cherries, reducing their.size and vigor of growth but slightly, how ever. It enables the cherry to grow better on heavy soils. The smaller varieties of the wild plum form, perhaps, the best stocks for the growth of dwarf plums.