TRUNING AND MANAGE:»iIEXT OF THE PEACH TBEE, 



87. First Sort. — Fruit-branches with Single Eijes (fig. 1.) This sort is the worst 

 and especially so when, as frequently happens, there is no wood-eye at its base, from 

 which we might hope to obtain a 



successional shoot. When this is the 

 case, the generality of good cultiva- 

 tors are of oj^inion that it should be 

 cut out, I am only of that opinion 

 when it is not required for covering 

 the branch, but when it serves to fill 

 up a blank it should be preserved. It 

 is left entire, because it possesses no 

 wood-buds except the terminal one ; 

 and this, by drawing the sap towards 

 it, allows of the setting of two or 

 three fruits, which may be left upon 

 it, taking care to pinch off" the super- 

 abundant flower-buds. It must be 

 nailed so as to give it as much liber- 

 ty as possible, in order that it may 

 gain strength; and when its terminal 

 shoot has grown sufficiently to estab- 

 lish the flow of sap, its herbaceous 

 extremity is pinched off" with the 

 view of concentrating the sap, and 

 exciting it to seek a fresh outlet. 

 By this means we can sometimes 

 cause a wood-eye to spring from the 

 lower part of such a branch. Should 

 this take place, we have then a suc- 

 cessional shoot to which the branch 

 can be cut back at the summer-prun- 

 ing if its fruits have dropped ; or 

 after they have been gathered, if they 

 hold on. 



88. If however this eye, of such 

 great importance, be not formed, 

 and it be impossible to suppress the Fig, 

 branch without occasioning an ugly blank, it must then be preserved till the next 

 pruning, cutting it back to the wood-bud nearest to the old wood, in order to again 

 try, by checking the flow of sap, to produce a wood-bud still lower. If this were 

 formed it would be needful to cut down on it immediately, if one or two fruits do not 

 make it worth while to retard the operation till after they are gathered. At the 

 same time the young shoot above must be checked by pinching, so that the one 



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