SECT. XIT. OF PRUNING. 155 



nutmeg nectarine ; and there may be more necta- 

 rines left on a tree than peaches. 



As the apricots gathered to thin a tree are often 

 used for tarts, so are sometimes the nectarines, but 

 let not too many of either grow for this u$e, or stay 

 too long on the tree before gathered. Thin the more 

 freely flourishing young trees, (to the third year) and 

 weak old ones. Trees should be thinned by cutting 

 off the fruit with a sharp pointed knife, and not by 

 pulling, which may tear the bark, and, if joined (as 

 in clusters) to another fruit, the pulling off one, 

 often damages the stalk of the other, and occasions 

 its dropping. 



As to thinning the leaves of wall trees, too much 

 liberty should not be taken, though in some measure 

 it may be necessary to give colour and ripeness to 

 the fruit. Thinning away a few leaves, where thick, 

 is serviceable to ripening the wood to form blossoms. 

 When leaves are greatly multiplied, and shade the 

 fruit much, afezv at a time may be displaced, if the 

 fruit is nearly full grown, but rather by pinching just 

 above the foot stalk, than by pulling. 



In gathering wall fruit, do not pinch it to try if 

 it is ripe, but give it a gentle lift, and if fit for eating, 

 it will readily part from the foot stalk. Those peaches 

 and nectarines that drop by their ripeness are yet 

 good (some say best) for the table ; but apricots 

 have a smarter and more agreeable flavour before; 

 they are thoroughly ripe. 



As to the dropping of fruit when it has attained to 

 some little size, in very light soils, it may be owing to 

 drought, use watering therefore deep and wide. But 

 the cause seems often to be some injury from in- 

 sects, or frosts, that the embryo fruit has suffered at 

 the foot stalk, which can only sustain its burden for 

 a while, and then its own weight breaks it off'. See 

 p. 53, 



