Next Years Wood. 233 



Some planters recommend the removal of all 

 secondaries that have once borne crop, but I am 

 opposed to any arbitrary rule of this kind, pre- 

 ferring to see them left for a second season, unless, 

 indeed, withered throughout their greater length, 

 and manifestly exhausted. The pruner must look 

 a-head, and endeavour to provide suitable wood 

 for next year's crop, and even for that of the 

 second year. With this object in view, a young 

 secondary shoot must now be trained on the oppo- 

 site side of the primary to -that which has to be 

 cut off the year following. By this means when 

 the old branch has been taken away from the one 

 side, a young and vigorous one will be left as a 

 substitute on the other. It may not of course 

 always be possible to carry out this programme 

 strictly to the letter, but the system should be fol- 

 lowed as closely as circumstances will allow. 



Should the distance between the joints be greater 

 than usual, tertiary branches may be allowed to 

 grow in the same order as the secondaries, i. e. 

 alternately on opposite sides ; but, as a general 

 rule, and where the primaries and secondaries are 

 fairly numerous, tertiaries are better dispensed with 

 altogether. 



The true criterion of good pruning, in my 

 opinion, is that the tree should produce fair crops 

 every year evenly, in addition of course to the 



