6 THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



ing the spur or leaving the fruits without foliage. The shorter spurs 

 on poorly pruned trees are apt to bear only fruit-buds. As a result, 

 the spurs die at the end of the fruiting season, for they have no means 

 of continuing their growth. Such trees are inclined to bear heavily, 

 only alternate years ; at least they bear heavy crops in the main body 

 of the tree only once in two years. Even if poorly pruned the stronger 

 branches in the top of the tree bear every year. 



The apricot tree should be pruned severely. Prune until the tree 

 makes as much growth as the well pruned peach. The growth should 

 be strong enough so fruiting-wood will bear some branch-buds in the 

 clusters of axillary buds. The twig may then be headed-back to any 

 one of these groups of buds, as in the case of the peach. The branch- 

 bud will continue the growth of the spur and furnish elaborate food 

 material for the developing fruit. Heavy pruning will not by any 

 means do away with bearing from spurs, but it wdll tend to develop 

 strong spurs that will produce new growth each year, and bear annually. 

 Pruning will not take the place of hand thinning entirely, but will 

 greatly reduce the amount of thinning necessary. The tree may as 

 well be headed low and kept low like the peach, for fruiting-wood soon 

 smothers out below if the tree is allowed to grow high. In some sec- 

 tions, summer pruning after the crop is off may develop a desirable type 

 of fruiting-wood. Fruit-buds formed upon this latter growth are tardy 

 about opening in the spring and may escape late spring frost injury. 



THE PLUMS. 



The different plums vary considerably as to their fruiting habits, 

 but as a class they are more like the apricot in their manner of bearing 

 fruit. On the weaker growths the buds are borne singly and on the 

 stronger growths in groups, either all fruit-buds, or part branch-buds. 

 At least the great majority of plums bear no true terminal buds and 

 weak spurs are objectionable for the same reason that weak apricot 

 spurs are undesirable. Some varieties, especially those of the Japanese 

 group, bear almost like a peach and can be pruned like a peach. 

 Others as those of the Domestica group which you know as prunes, will 

 not stand such severe pruning. The plum fruit-buds produce only 

 flowers and no leaves, or at best only very rudimentary leaves. Each 

 fruit-bud may bear from one to four or five flow^ers, the larger number 

 of flowers indicating more vigorous growth and better pruning. 



Generally speaking, the best types of fruiting-wood are spurs vig- 

 orous enough to bear some branch-buds, or if the tree bears well on 

 longer growth, twigs bearing groups of fruit-buds well mixed with 

 branch-buds. The first type of fruiting-wood is supplied with means 

 of continuing its growth to develop fruit-buds for another year. If the 

 branch-bud is not present, the fruit spur dies at the close of the fruit- 

 ing season and becomes a thorn. And yet, we sometimes wonder why 

 plum trees have thorns. Spurs can not be depended upon for very long 

 service. The best spurs are those one year old. To keep up an annual 

 supply of these one-year-old spurs, one must grow each year a good 

 supply of new twigs from twelve to eighteen inches in length. In most 

 varieties, these twigs will bear some fruit the following year, and will 

 also develop, from axillary branch-lmds, strong spurs that may be 

 depended upon for the next crop. In many varieties, these stronger 



