CHE REFERENCE LIBRARY - ZetaTalk

126 THE NURSERY-M,4NUALsmooth and eveu, am1 t,he bud is not too thick. Some propagatorsout the buds as they go, while others prefer to cut awhole stick before setting any, letting eachbud hang by a bit of bark at the top, andwhich is cut ofi squareiy when wanted,as is showi in Fig. 133. On a stick onefourthor three-eighths inch in diameter thecut, at its deepest joint just urlder the bud,is about one-fourth the diameter of thetwig. A bit of wood, therefore, is removedwith the bud, as shown in Fig. 1311.,.,, There is some discussion as to whethelthis wood should be left on the bud, butno definite experiments have been madeto show that it is inju-Fro. 137. Prt&aring thf.2 rious to the resultingst,ock (x i). tree. ,Sonie buddersremove the wllc~od with the point of the knifeor by a deft t\-\.ist as the bud is taken fromthe stick. Hut t~ic!:+ appear to live equallywell with wood attached or removed. Thebit of wood probubIy serves a useful purposein retaining moisture ill the bud, but at thesame time it interposes a foreign body betweenthe healing surfaces, for the bark ofthe bud unites directly with the surface ofthe stock. Probably the very >x)uIlgestparts of the wood in the bud unite with thestock? but. if the budding-knife cuts deep,the denser part of the wood should be re- FIQ. 138. - Bud PIImovedfrom the bud. This remark is par- t wing matrix (x 31,titularly true, also, of all buds likely to be cut into the pith, asin the nut-trees.The wound or matrix that is to receive the bud is made by