366 SOME SPECIFIC MODES OF TRAINING 



start into growth with as many young shoots as could be 

 tied to the trellis without crowding them. What I have 

 practiced and would recommend is a mean between these 

 two. The two center shoots I would shorten back to half 

 their length, the other eight shoots to be merely topped 

 back to solid, well-ripened wood. The cutting somewhat 

 closely back of the two center ones makes it certain that 

 two or three good, strong growths will start from near their 

 base to properly fill up the center of the tree with leaders. 

 Each of the other eight shoots should have all their buds 

 removed by degrees, except one near the baseband one or 

 two at equal distances between it and the leading bud, ac- 

 cording to the length of the shoots; two buds to be left 

 on the under side if the shoots are long enough to have 

 room for three on the upper side, the buds on the one side 

 to alternate in position with those on the other. These 

 lateral growths, with the leader, are enough to lay a foun- 

 dation to serve for the future full-grown tree. The lateral 

 growths should be allowed to grow without being stopped. 

 Should the leaders show signs of growing very vigorously 

 at the expense of the side growths, stop them whenever 

 they show such a tendency. This will cause them to make 

 lateral growths freely, and equally balance the growth of 

 all the young shoots. This encouragement of lateral 

 growths, especially on the young wood in the center of the 

 tree, gives sufficient to furnish the tree without having 

 recourse to the undesirable practice of first allowing a few 

 very strong leaders to monopolize the sap, and then to cut 

 them down at the winter pruning. In this way much time 

 is gained in covering a wall or trellis with bearing wood. 



"A young tree thus managed on what may be termed a 

 mean between the extension and the cutting -hard -back 

 systems produces a comparatively large, well -furnished 

 tree the autumn after it is planted, and one which requires 

 very little or no winter pruning before starting it into 

 another year's growth. If the summer disbudding and 



