434 THE ORCHARD. [JUNE 



no catkins, or if they are prematurely cut away in pruning, there 

 can be no fruit. Pruning should not be commenced till after the 

 appearance of the crimson stigmas at the apex of such buds as 6, 6, 

 and after the full expansion of the catkins. When the latter have 

 fulfilled their purpose, they fall off. After fertilization, the buds 6, 

 5, lengthen into a twig much the same as other buds; but towards 

 midsummer the formation of the cluster can be seen. The cluster 

 is always terminal. 



The county of Kent has been long celebrated for the production 

 of large crops of filberts. The method pursued by the Maidstone 

 cultivators is minutely detailed by the Rev. William Williamson in 

 the fourth volume of the first series of the Transactions of the Horti- 

 cultural Society. 



" Plant the bushes unpruned, and after being suffered to grow with- 

 out restraint for three or four years, cut them down within a few 

 inches of the ground. From the remaining part, if the trees are 

 well rooted in the soil, five or six strong shoots will be produced. In 

 the second year after cutting down, these shoots are shortened ; gene- 

 rally one-third is taken off. If very weak, I would advise that the 

 trees be quite cut down a second time, as in the previous spring; but 

 it would be much better not to cut them down till the trees give 

 evident tokens of their being able to produce shoots of sufficient 

 strength. When they are thus shortened, that they may appear 

 regular, let a small hoop be placed within the branches, to which 

 the shoots are to be fastened at equal distances. By this practice 

 two considerable advantages will be gained the trees will grow more 

 regular, and the middle will be kept hollow, so as to admit the influ- 

 ence of the sun and air. In the thir3 year a shoot will spring from 

 each bud; these must be suffered to grow till the following autumn, 

 or fourth year, when they are to be cut off nearly close to the original 

 stem, and the leading shoot of the last year shortened two-thirds. In 

 the fifth year several small shoots will arise from the bases of the 

 side branches which were cut off the preceding year ; these are pro- 

 duced from small buds, and would not have been emitted had not the 

 branch on which they are situated been shortened, the whole nourish- 

 ment being carried to the upper part of the branch. It is from these 

 shoots that fruit is to be expected. These productive shoots will in 

 a few years become very numerous, and many of them must be taken 

 off, particularly the strongest, in order to encourage the production 

 of the smaller ones; for those of the former year become so exhausted 

 that they generally decay; but whether decayed or not they are 

 always cut out by the pruner, and a fresh supply must therefore be 

 provided to produce the fruit in the succeeding year. The leading 

 shoot is every year to be shortened two-thirds, or more should the 

 tree be weak, and the whole height of the branches must not exceed 

 six feet. The method of pruning above detailed might, in a few 

 words, be called a method of spurring, by which bearing shoots are 

 produced, which otherwise would have had no existence. Old trees 

 are easily induced to bear in this manner, by selecting a sufficient 

 number of the main branches, and then cutting the side shoots off 

 nearly close, excepting any should be so situated as not to interfere 



