SPUR-PRUNING THE APPLE. 



539 



portion of sun and air is admitted to the buds, which will be considerably 

 strengthened and forwarded to a mature state. If after such treatment 

 fruit-buds are not produced from the origin of the shoot, nail the shoot to 

 the wall, parallel with the branch, which is uniformly successful in producing 

 them. 



Third year. Winter pruning. Such of the buds as produced wood shoots 

 the last year, and were shortened during summer as described, are now 

 shortened more. It frequently happens that a fruitful bud, or in some 

 instances two, will have been formed at the lower part of the shoot, (fig. 361, 

 a a) ; such shoots are now cut off about a quarter of an inch above the 

 uppermost of the fruitful buds (&) : but (as it is sometimes the case), if 

 there have not been fruitful buds produced, there will be growing buds, and 

 then the shoots are cut down so as to leave one bud (fig. 361, c). On 

 some occasions the growing buds and 

 fruitful buds will appear but very in- 

 distinctly, and in an embryo state ; 

 when this is the case the shoots are cut 

 down so as to leave two of those em- 

 bryo buds (dd}. There are generally 

 some natural fruit buds which did not 

 push to shoots, all such are left entire 

 (e). They are of a reddish colour, and are easily distinguished from grow- 

 ing buds, which are considerably less and all of a dark colour. 



Summer pruning. This summer the fruitful buds are productive. 

 When the fruit has swelled a little, a shoot generally proceeds from the 

 stem of the spur (which it may now be called), just underneath the fruit : 

 such are allowed to grow eight or ten inches long, and are then shortened 

 back to two inches, or so as to leave three eyes upon each (fig. 362, A a). 



JB 



Fig. 361. 



Pruning, third year. 



Fig. 362. Spur Pruning, fourth year. 



By shortening the shoot, strength is thrown into the fruit, and, during 

 summer, two or more fruit-buds are generally produced at the bottom of the 

 shoot thus cut down (fig. 362, &&), or, otherwise, from the lower part 

 of the spur (fig. 362, e). It sometimes occurs that when the tree is 

 very vigorous, some of the buds (fig. 362, b b) will push into shoots, or 

 occasionally into bloom, during the latter end of summer. If shoots, they 

 are allowed to grow, and are then shortened, as described for similar 

 shoots ; but, when bloom is produced, it is immediately cut off close under 

 the blossom. 



The shoots (fig. 361, c) produced after the third year's winter pruning are 



