"June budding" is a term applied to the budding of stocks in early summer while they are yet growing rapidly. It is employed mostly at the south where the stocks can be grown to sufficient size by the last of June or first of July. Small stocks are usually employed--those ranging from one-fourth to one-third inch being preferred. A few strong leaves should be left on the stock below the bud, and after the bud has "stuck" the whole top should not be cut off at once, else the growing plant will receive a too severe check. It is best to bend the top over to check its growth or remove the leaves gradually. The bandages should not be left on longer than six to ten days if the stock is growing rapidly. To prevent the constriction of the stem, muslin bands are sometimes used instead of bass or raffia. In hot and dry climates the bud should be set an inch or two higher in June budding than in the ordinary practice, to escape the great heat of the soil. June budding is used upon the peach more than any other tree, although it can be employed for any species which will give large enough stocks from seed by the June following the sowing. In peaches, the bud will produce a shoot from three to five feet high the same season the buds are set, so that marketable budded trees can be produced in one season from the seed. [Illustration: Fig. 66. Cutting off the stock.] A different kind of early summer budding is sometimes performed upon apples and other fruit-trees. In this case the stocks are one or two years old from the transplanting, and dormant buds are used. These buds are cut the previous fall or winter in the same manner as cions, and when spring approaches they are put on ice--in sawdust, sand or moss--and kept until the stocks are large enough to receive them. The particular advantage of this method is the distributing of the labor of budding over a longer season, thereby avoiding the rush which often occurs at the regular budding time. Budders usually carry a number of "sticks" with them when they enter the nursery. These may be carried in the pocket, or thrust into the boot-leg; or some budders carry four or five sticks in the hand. The budder follows a row throughout its length, passing over those trees which are too small to work. It is a common practice to rest upon one knee while budding, as shown in Fig. 67, but some prefer to use a low stool. The tying is usually done by a boy, who should follow close behind the budder in order that the buds shall not dry out. An expert budder will set from 1,000 to 3,000 buds a day, in good stock, and with a boy (or two of them for the latter speed) to tie. Peach stocks are more rapidly budded than most others, as the bark is firm and slips easily, and some remarkable records are made by skillful workmen. [Illustration: Fig. 67. Budder at work.]