66 NEAR A WOOD BUD. 



lett are inclined to the pyramidal form ; their growth 

 of wood is uniform and regular, and they will there- 

 fore attain the proper shape, with but little trouble, 

 unless the young trees were so closely crowded to- 

 gether in the nursery, as to interfere with their nat- 

 ural habits of growth. In such instances more 

 care will be required in planting, and in the first 

 and second pruning, so that the new shoots may be 

 evenly distributed over the body of the tree. 



There are other kinds, such as the Winter Nelis, 

 Lawrence and Beurre d'Amalis, more difficult to 

 manage, owing to their propensity to irregular 

 growth. The young shoots on these varieties, are 

 pushed forth in every direction, and to make well- 

 shapen trees of them, they will require strict atten- 

 tion for three or four years from the time of planting. 



For the first named sorts, the cut in trimming 

 should be made slanting on the upper side of the 

 shoot, near a wood bud; or in other words, the 

 operator should stand facing the tree, cutting from 

 the upper side, drawing the knife at an angle tow- 

 ards him. The bud in this case must be on the 

 under side of the shoot, so positioned that the 

 growth from the bud will keep the tree in balance. 

 In cutting off branches, the knife should always be 

 very sharp, so that a clean cut may be made, which 

 will heal more quickly than if the end of the twig 



