parts v/ithout any other aid than nature, because the tree assumes the form most in har 

 mony with the natural tendency of the sap.* 



"But in those submitted to pruning, it is different; the forms imposed on them, such 

 as espalier, pyramid, vase, &c., change more or less the normal direction of the sap, and 

 prevent it from taking the form proper to its species. Thus nearly all the forms given to 

 trees require the development of ramifications more or less numerous, and of greater or 

 less dimensions at the base of the stem. And, as the sap tends by preference towards the 

 summit of the tree, it happens that, unless great care be taken, the branches at the base 

 become feeble, and finally dry up, and the form intended to be obtained disappears, to be 

 replaced by the natural form, that is a stem or a trunk with a branching head. It is then 

 indispensable, if we wish to preserve the form we impose upon trees, to employ certain 

 means, by the aid of which the natural direction of the sap can be changed and directed 

 towards the points where we wish to obtain the most vigorous growth. To do this we 

 must arrest vegetation in the parts to which the sap is carried in too great abundance, 

 and on the contrary favor the parts that do not receive enough. To accomplish this the 

 following means must be successively employed. 



*' 1. Prune the branches of the most vigorous parts very short, and those of the loeak 

 parts long. We know that the sap is attracted by the leaves. The removal of a large 

 number of wood-buds from the vigorous parts, deprives these parts of the leaves which 

 these buds would have produced; consequently the sap is attracted there in less quanti- 

 ties, and the growth thereby diminished. The feeble parts being pruned long, present a 

 great number of buds, which produce a large surface of leaves, and these attract the sap 

 and acquire a vigorous growth. This principle holds good in all trees, under whatever 

 form they maj' be conducted. 



" 2. Leave a large quantity of fruit on the strong part, and remove the whole, or great- 

 er part, from thefcebls. We know already that the fruit has the property of attracting 

 to it the sap from the roots, and of emplo ing it entirely to its own growth. The neces- 

 sary result of this is, what we are about to point out, viz: that all the sap which arrives 

 in the strong parts, will be absorbed by the fruits, and the wood there, in consequence, 

 will make but little growth, while on the feeble part, deprived of fruits, the sap will all 

 be appropriated by the growing parts, and they will increase in size and strength. 



" 3. Bend the strong parts and keep the weak erect. The more erect the branches and 

 stem are, the greater will be the flow of sap to the growing parts; hence, the feeble parts 

 being erect, attract much more sap than the strong parts inclined, and, consequently, 

 make a more vigorous growth, and soon recover their balance. This remedy is more es- 

 pecially applied to espalier trees. 



" 4. Remove from the vigorous parts the superfluous shoots as early in the season as 

 possible, and from the faebli' parts as late as possible. The fewer the number of young 

 shoots there are on a branch, the fewer there are of leaves, and consequently the less is 

 the sap attracted there. Hence, in leaving the young shoots on the feeble part, their leaves 

 attract the sap there, and induce a vigorous growth. 



" 5. Pi7ich early the soft extremities of the shoots on the vigorous parts, and as late 

 as possible on the feeble parts, excepting always any shoots which may be too vigorous for 

 their position. By thus pinching early the strong part, the flow of sap to that point is 

 checked, and naturally turns to the growing parts that have not been pinched; this remedy 

 is applicable to trees in all forms. 



" C. Lay in the strong shoots on the trellis early, and leave the feeble parts loose as long 

 as possible. Laying in the strong parts obstructs the circulation of the sap in them, and 

 consequently favors the weak parts that are loose. This is only applicable to espaliers. 



" 7. In e'spalicr trees, giving the feeble parts the ben'^fils of the light, and confining 

 the strong parts more in the shade, restores a balance, for light is the agent which enables 

 leaves to perform their functions and their action on the roots, and the parts receiving the 

 greatest proportion of it acquire the most vigorous development. 



2. " The sap acts with greater force and produces more vigorous growth on a branch 

 or shoot pruned short, than on one pruned long. This is easily explained. The sap act- 

 ing on two buds must evidently produce a greater development of wood on them, than if 

 it Were divided between fifteen or twenty buds. 



* This is not in all cases true. Peach Irees, we know, left to themselves, exhibit a very striking example of the un- 

 sliibiition of llie sap- The ends of the branches attract nearly the whole, leaving the lateral shoots and lower 

 die out. In other species, similar instances might be quoted, and as a general thing, the proposition is unsound, 

 in a comparative sense. 



