PRUNING AND MANAGEMENT OF THE PEACH TEEE. 159 



found on well-established trees, and generally on the old wood. 

 It appears to be the result of a wood-bud being prevented by the 

 scarcity of sap from "becoming a shoot. A deficiency in the flow 

 of sap converts nearly all the wood-buds into flower-buds. (See 

 Fig. 5.) We call it cochonnet at Montreuil, and in other localities 

 it receives the names of branche a bouquet and of bouquet de mai. 



82. It must be understood, that well-constituted fruit-branches 

 have always wood-buds close to their bases. It is these eyes that 

 afford the means of forming replacing or successional branches, 

 the importance of which will be explained in pointing out the 

 proceedings by which their development is induced. 



83. The fruit-branches almost invariably push as many shoots as 

 they have eyes. Whence it follows, that, with this natural 

 disposition, a tree would very soon have nothing but fruit-branches, 

 the terminal of which would be the only wood-bud. Shoots 

 having no wood-buds on their lower parts, and which, consequently, 

 cannot be properly shortened, would elongate more or less, but 

 all below each year's terminal shoot would become entirely naked 

 branches, ultimately bearing only at their extremities a small wood- 

 shoot. Besides the disagreeable appearance which a Peach-tree 

 in that state would present, its produce would be small, and its 

 life would be shortened. We must, therefore, prevent such bad 

 consequences by judicious pruning. 



84. This consists in operating so as to cause the sap to flow 

 with greater force into the lower part of each fruit-branch, in 

 order that the eyes there situated, and more especially the lowest 

 one, may not die off in consequence of the sap being drawn up to 

 the top of the branch. Such might be the case if the shoot were 

 left entire ; and it might likewise occur even if pruned, if we did 

 not watch the growth of the terminal and of all the wood-buds 

 situate above the one nearest to its base, so that the development 

 of the latter, which is most important, may not be arrested. The 

 whole art, then, in pruning the fruit-bearing shoots consists in 

 encouraging the eyes at their bases, in order that they may be in 

 a state to develope themselves. To attain this, every fruit-shoot 

 is pruned, for the first time, to a length proportionate to its 

 strength, and to the place it occupies ; that is to say, as many 

 fruit-buds are left on as it can support without being exhausted, 

 The cut is made above and near to a pushing-eye, which becomes 

 the terminal. The effect of all pruning being to improve the 

 parts beneath, all the wood-buds and fruit-buds that are allowed 

 to remain uniformly open. The growth of the young shoots is 



