THE PRUNING OK FRUIT TREES 325 



and he does this by curtailing unduly vigorous shoots and en- 

 couraging weaker ones. Again he knows by experience that air 

 and light are essential to the production of blossom and fruit, and 

 in cutting back his trees he keeps this object well in view as he 

 removes systematically all dead, diseased or redundant wood. 



At first sight the achievement of these purposes does not pre- 

 sent any great difficulties to the man who is possessor of a stout 

 and efficient pruning knife and a small saw. But once again the 

 warning that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing would be 

 more than justified if the wielder of the pruning knife and the 

 saw treated all his fruit trees alike. There might, it is true, be 

 regulation of form and size, but there would be precious little 

 fruit. 



A somewhat deeper study of the peculiarities of one's trees is 

 necessary before the pruning knife is brought into play. One 

 must fix firmly in one's mind that while some trees carry their 

 fruit buds on old wood or spurs, others bear on young wood, and 

 it will therefore be of assistance if the two classes are tabulated as 

 follows : 



(1) Trees which bear on old wood : 



Apples 

 Pears 

 Plums 

 Cherries 



(2) Trees which bear on new wood : 



Nuts 



Apricots 



Currants (white and red) 



Gooseberries 



Peaches I Morello cherries 



Nectarines Currants (black) 



New wood can generally be distinguished by its paleness as 

 compared with old wood, and by the fact that it grows from the 

 en.'s or from the sides of the established wood. 



Care must also be taken to discriminate between the fruiting 

 spurs and the leaf shoots. This can be done if the tree is examined 

 closely when it has been stripped clean of leaves. The fruit spurs 

 of an apple-tree will have knotted plump projections at intervals 



