170 PRUNING AND MANAGEMENT OF THE PEACH TREK 



each wing must be as nearly equal as possible ; and if the 

 thinning is well done, a sort of regularity is obtained which 

 would make one believe that they bad been placed on by hand. 

 The green Peaches taken off may be turned to account by the 

 confectioners. Notwithstanding the number of fruits dropped and 

 thinned out, I still leave on each square-trained Peach-tree, about 

 four or five hundred Peaches, which, from their beauty and nearly 

 equal size, w : ell repay the trouble I take. 



134. But in abundant seasons, if we did not thin till the stone 

 is formed, the tree would be weakened. In such a case, the 

 thinning should be made at two different times ; the first in June, 

 when all that are evidently superfluous must be thinned out ; and 

 the second after there is no danger of their dropping. 



135. The greater or less quantity of fruit is a means of 

 equalising the strength of the different parts of the tree, as will 

 be further explained. 



IX. On Summer Pruning. 



136. The object of this operation is to remedy any bad results 

 of winter-pruning, of pinching, and of omissions in the dis- 

 budding ; also to concentrate the* sap in the tree, by removing 

 those useless productions which would have to be cut off at the 

 winter-pruning, and which, meanwhile, would have fed on the sap 

 at the expense of others necessary to be preserved. 



137. Summer-pruning, which is performed with the secateur, 

 or with the pruning-knife, as may be requisite, is less applied to 

 the wood-branches than to the fruit-branches, especially when the 

 winter-pruning is well done. The following, however, are some 

 circumstances where it should be employed. When the extremity 

 of a vigorous young shoot has been too severely pinched, the upper 

 eyes usually open at the same time, and several laterals are 

 formed causing great disorder. These are perhaps pinched in 

 their turn, and very often the result is a crowd of young shoots, 

 originating near the same point. Such agglomerations receive the 

 name of willow stools ; they consume a great quantity of sap, and 

 tend to impoverish the neighbouring shoots. In this case, all 

 these injurious shoots must be cut down to one of the lowest and 

 weakest laterals ; and the growing-point must be pinched before 

 there is time to form eyes along the shoot. The consequence is, 

 the sap, finding all outlets at this part temporarily closed, turns 

 into other channels before the former can be re-opened. 



