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APPLE FRUIT SPUR 



A side shoot usually becomes only a short stub in its first 

 summer's growth if an apple ripens; but if the apple falls early, 

 the shoot may grow six inches or more, and after a few years 

 may become a large limb. 



Blossom Buds. — In the same year that a fruit spur ripens 

 an apple, its side shoot usually makes no blossom bud. The 

 next year the shoot usually grows in length and makes a 



blossom bud on its end, 

 and in the following year 

 forms an apple. Hence a 

 branch seldom bears ripe 

 apples more often than 

 every second year. If all 

 the branches bloom in one 

 year, the tree will not 

 bear apples the next year. 

 When a tree bears every 

 year, half of its branches 

 blossom in one year and 

 the other half in the next 

 year. 



The side shoot on a 



spur from which a green 



apple falls may form a 



blossom bud in the same 



year that the apple grew. 



Hence a second blossom 



may appear in the next 



year after the first one 



opens. Have any of the fruit spurs that you observe blossom 



buds on their side shoots ? Did any of the spurs with blossom 



buds ripen apples last season ? 



Age of Fruit Spurs. — The age of fruit spurs and their 

 branches may be read in the same way as the age of other 

 shoots, if we remember that a side shoot, up to its first joint, 



Apple Branch with Fruit Spurs 



