152 PRUNING AND MANAGEMENT OF THE PEACH TREE. 



be turned one way or the other, provided the eyes be properly 

 placed. For the formation of a fine tree in a short time, 

 this precaution is of greater importance than most people 

 suppose. Gardeners usually plant their trees with the budded 

 part in front, without paying the least attention to the position of 

 the eyes. The following spring, when the tree shoots, they are 

 astonished to see the greater number of trees thus planted with 

 eyes before and behind ; whilst those planted as 1 have directed 

 have their eyes well placed, one on each side. When the tree is 

 iii the proper position the roots are carefully spread out, and then 

 covered over to the height I have directed, or at least in such a 

 way that the bud, b, may be kept out of the earth. 



58. A space of twenty-six feet is left between those Peach-trees 

 intended to be trained in the square form. When a Peach and a 

 Pear are to be planted alternately, thei'e should then be a distance 

 of thirty-nine feet between them. The intermediate spaces may 

 be usefully employed by planting between each Peach and Pear- 

 tree a young tree, which can be brought up till three years old, 

 and which may be employed to make afresh plantation, producing 

 a crop in a short time. 



Section IV. — Theoretical Explanation of the Various Operations 

 of Prunixc. 



59. The tree being planted as above directed, the next can' is 

 to regulate it every year by pruning, so as to cause it to produce 

 shoots proper for training, according to the intended form. But 

 before entering into the details of the operations that a tree 

 requires, from the time of its being planted to that of its death, 

 it is highly necessary to explain the general principles, the 

 application of which frequently occurs, and which, once explained, 

 will not require to be repeated when I detail the successive 

 manual operations. We shall commence by describing the 

 instruments that are used. 



I. Necessary Instruments and Tools. 



00. The tools or instruments necessary for pruning fruit-trees 

 are the secateur, the pruning-knife, and the saw. 



I need not describe these instruments, which are sufficiently 

 known ; 1 will only comment on the secateur. This instrument 

 is now used by nearly all the growers at Montreuil. It can be 



