PRUNING TO FORM PYRAMIDS. 155 



Altliongli tlio pyramidal form has become estab- 

 lishcd, this tree would soon grow out of balance if 

 neglected. It will require annual pincbing and sum- 

 mer checking of the leading shoots not only for tbe 

 purjDose of restraining them, but to preserve the 

 development of the lower branches. 



From neglect or bad pruning, it is not unfrequent 

 that trees acquire a growth similar to Fig. 40, which 

 is a portrait of a tree in my own grounds. In its first 

 pruning, the stem was left too high, and, in conse- 

 quence, a long space has occurred at A and B, free 

 from radial branches. After some subsequent prun- 

 ing, a gourmand, indicated by C, has pushed out 

 from near the collar. 



Another error in pruning is shown at D, where a 

 cut was made too far above the bud, or the branch. 

 The hio'hest shoot in this tree has abdicated the 

 leadership, and a strong rival has pushed up from 

 below it. Some of the methods of remedying the 

 numerous evils in the condition of tliis tree, without 

 shortening it back so severely as to lose three or four 

 years in its fruiting, will be noticed. To cover the 

 naked space on the stem, the shoots A and B, Fig. 40, 

 may be ingrafted by cutting tliem to a wedge sha23e, 

 at A and B, and fitting them into a notch in the stem, 

 made with a chisel, or by removing small sections of 

 bark from both the stem and the shoot, and binding 

 the two firmly in contact. The gourmand may be 

 used for ingrafting upon the trunk, at G, but when 

 not used as a graft, it should be cut at F, in order to 

 conceal the trunk with foliage. The branch and part 

 of the stem, atD, sliouhl be entirely removed, in order 



