PRUNING AND MANAGEMENT OP THE PEACH TREE. 1(51 



two wood-eyes, one or other of which, in growing, will supply the 

 successional shoot in the following year. 



86. Such is the general principle, the object of which is to 

 concentrate the sap in the lower eyes, and thus prevent them 

 from dying off; for, in that case, we would be obliged to cut off 

 the branch that had fruited, as it only wastes the sap, without 

 having, at the same time, any means of replacing the said branch, 

 and thus a gap would be produced at the place it occupied. 

 Nevertheless, this too absolute principle must receive some modi- 

 fications which will be adverted to when explaining the rules 

 applicable to each of the four sorts of fruit-branches which exist 

 on the Peach-tree. 



87. First sort. — Fruit-branches with Single Eyes (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 cultivators are of opinion 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 superabundant flower-buds. 

 It must be nailed so as to give it as much liberty as possible, in 

 order that it may gain strength ; and when its terminal shoot has 

 grown sufficiently to establish 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 successional 

 shoot to which the branch can be cut back at the summer-pruning 

 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 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 



