66 AgriGultural Gazette of N.S.W, [Jan. 2, 1920. 



one direction, so that if one is lost the other will take its place. After the 

 callus has crept well over the edges of the top wound where the original 

 thick limb was cut back, one of the budded shoots can be dispensed with ; 

 although this leaves a wound it is one that will heal over very much more 

 readily than the top wound referred to above. 



Where it is desired, old trees that have not been cut back, and have co 

 young shoots low down, can be budded direct into the old bark. Owing to the 

 thickness of the bark and the pressure it exerts, it is more difficult to slip in 

 the buds, and the work is slower. As a rule, the bark on the lower side of 

 limbs, owing to its more shaded position, will lift more easily than that on 

 the upper side. In the following spring, when the limbs are cut back to start 

 the buds, in the event of a shoot starting on the upper side, it should be 

 checked to prevent it from sapping the shoot from the inserted bud, but it 

 should not be rubbed right off, as it will serve to keep the sap moving on the 

 upper side and prevent any of the bark dying, as just described. Later it 

 also could be budded and held as a safeguard in case the shoot from the bud 

 inserted in the old bark be blown out or meet with other accident — as in the 

 former case the secondary bud could be cut away after the callus has crept 

 well over the edges of the wound where the old thick main limb was cut 

 back. 



A bulletin entitled " Budding and Grafting " may be obtained on applica- 

 tion to the Under Secretary and Director, Department of Agriculture, 

 Sydney. 



Summer Thinning and Pruning. 



Young trees that are being transformed by previous re-working will still 

 require to be inspected periodically, and superfluous growth cut away, or 

 topped, as has been described in previous months. Older trees, too, that are 

 still making vigorous growth, especially those which have been topped during 

 previous winter pruning, can advantageously have any leaders removed that 

 are not required for budding the future fi-amework of the tree. This reduc- 

 tion of strong leader growths allows more light through the tree, and the 

 result is the better development of fruit buds and spurs in the body of the 

 tree. 



This is also a good time to shorten back the laterals of pears, apples, or 

 plums that otherwise do not spur readily. 



Marketing Problems. 

 Picking and marketing of summer fruits will be mostly completed in the 

 coastal districts this month, but in the inland districts where the later 

 varieties of stone fruits ai-e grown harvesting will be at its height, and, 

 in the tableland apple and pear districts, only about commencing. Since 

 Victoria and Tasmania have organised standard grades, the growers of this 

 State, as a whole, have become more interested in the matter, wliich is now 

 under consideration by the Fruitgrowers' Association. It requires no great 

 imagination to see the advantages of fixed standards universally adopted by 

 the growers of the State, but until such materialise it is well to consider 

 how individual grading may be improved. 



