FRUIT-GROWING AND PRESERVING. 6l 



which had been planted as " maidens " and cut hard for about 

 two years after planting, was chosen for the experiment, and the 

 growers recommended (on the basis of their existing practice) 

 three different types of pruning, leaving one row of trees uncon- 

 trolled. Without going into details regarding the methods of 

 pruning employed, it may be said that three essential facts have 

 emerged from the results of the trial up to date. 



The first and most important is the absolute necessity of 

 adapting methods of winter pruning to the natural habit of the 

 variety. Differences in varietal habit are so great that no rule 

 of thumb method is equally appHcable to all varieties, and although 

 certain groupings of varieties according to habit of growth and 

 fruiting have been indicated and are being worked out in greater 

 detail, it is scarcely too much to say that no two varieties can 

 satisfactorily be treated ahke. If, for instance, two well-known 

 commercial varieties, Worcester Pearmain and Newton Wonder, 

 are taken, it is found that the method of pruning adopted must 

 have regard to the ready formation of natural spurs on the 

 Newton Wonder and the almost exclusive tip bearing (when 

 young) of the Worcester Pearmain. 



Secondly, the problem of pruning a temporary tree designed 

 for quick cropping should be approached from a different stand- 

 point from that of the long-lived permanent tree. In very many 

 cases growers have pruned these temporary trees far too dras- 

 tically. 



In the third place it has been found that profuse blossoming 

 does not necessarily lead to fruit in proportion. Pruning may 

 actually reduce blossoming, but at the same time improve the 

 setting of the blossom; so much so, that under conditions at 

 East Mailing, the pruned Newton Wonders, though producing 

 far less blossom than the unpruned, have actually over a series 

 of four years, produced more fruit of considerably better quality. 

 The work is considered so promising as to justify an extension 

 to demonstrate the best methods of winter pruning for each 

 variety and purpose. 



As in most descriptions of research work, a bare narrative 

 of results gives no clue to the amount of labour and care involved 

 in obtaining them. The Mailing pruning trial affords a good illus- 

 tration of this point. The experiment has lasted for six years, 

 and during the last three an enormous number of records have 

 been taken, including, for every tree, the number and weight of 

 fruit (including dropped fruit) ; the number and weight of 

 scabbed fruit, if any ; the number of fruit found in 2, 3 and 4 in a 

 bunch; the number of blossoms; the kind of blossom (spurs, 

 terminal or axillary) ; the height and spread of tree ; girth of 



