UPWARD AND OUTWARD. 73 



of in the following March ; for the amount of food 

 necessary to bring these useless shoots to maturity 

 will then be appropriated by the remaining brandies. 

 In summer as well as in winter pruning, the main 

 object should never be lost sight of; to encourage 

 the growth upward and outward, leaving the tree 

 open enough to admit air and light. 



Let me repeat once more, summer pruning must 

 be performed with care and judgment. Many va- 

 rieties will come into bearing in four or five years 

 from the time of planting. On these kinds summer 

 pinching is unnecessary, for it should be borne in 

 mind that a young tree, to maintain a healthy con- 

 dition, must continue to make new wood as well as 

 to produce fruit. 



There are many ways of changing trees from 

 wood making to fruit making. 1 have pursued a 

 simple and easy method thus to alter the habits of 

 a tree. During March and April, or July and 

 August, on trees not inclined to produce fruit, I 

 select some young shoots, in different places on the 

 tree, and carefully bend them into the form of rings. 

 Fruit spurs, as in fig. 8, will appear on the curved 

 portions, certainly within two years. This plan I 

 prefer to the one usually practised, of bending and 

 tying the end of the long branches to the body of 

 the tree. In the former case the fruit spurs will be 

 4 



