P R U 



P R U 



every part equally from the bottom to the top of 

 the wall or espaliLr with proper branches, capa- 

 ble of prcducmg good fruit, is the principal ob- 

 ject of this operation. 



In performing it the operator should be care- 

 fid to Iree the trees of every thing that is su])cr- 

 fluoup, irrcgidar, or hurtful, both in the Luni- 

 mer and winter pruiiings. 'J"ho«c branches are 

 superfluous, which though good and well placed, 

 are more than wanted or that can be properly, 

 laid in, and those irregular which aie so ill 

 placed as' not to be trained with regularity to the 

 wall or espalier, such as all ibrc-right shoots, 

 beinc; such as grow inmiediatclv from the front 

 or back of the branches in a fore-right direc - 

 tion ; and those are hurtful which are of bad 

 growth, such as all very rank or singidarly lux- 

 uriant rude shoots. ^ The sujierfluous (n redund- 

 ant growths should of course be thinned by 

 pruning out all that seem to cause confusion ; 

 and the irregular and hurtful rank shoots be dis- 

 placed, cutting all these ofl' quite close to the 

 place whence thev proceed, only leaving a pro- 

 per supply of the regular or best placed side- 

 shoots where necessary, so as to preserve every 

 part well furnished with bearing wood, trained 

 straight and close to the wall or espalier, at 

 equal distances. Some sorts of wall-trees, &c., 

 however, require a general annual supply of 

 young wood, such as peach and all other trees 

 which bear only on the shoots of a year old ; 

 others recpjire only an occasional supply of 

 wood, such as apples, pears, &c., and all other 

 kinds that hear on the old wood of from two or 

 three to ten or twenty years old or more; so 

 that the same branches continue in bearing many 

 Years, and the trees require only a supply of 

 youna; shoots now and then to replace any xyorn 

 out or dead branches. See Summer and Win- 

 TEn Pruning. 



This art chiefly consists in being acquainted 

 with the nature of bearing in the different sorts 

 of trees, and in the forming an early judgment of 

 the future event of shoots and branches, as well 

 as other circumstances, for which some rules 

 may he given ; but there are particular instances 

 which cannot be jud2;td of but upon the spot, 

 and depend chiefly upon practice and observa- 

 tion. 



With regard to the nature or mode of bearing 

 of the different sorts of wall- and espalier-trees, 

 &c. peaches, nectarines, apricots, &c., all pro- 

 duce their fruit principalh' upon the young wood 

 of a year old ; that is, the shoots produced this 

 year bear fruit the year following, and the same 

 of every year's shoots; so that in all these trees, 

 a general supply of the best regular shoots of 

 each year should be every where preserved^ both 



in the summer and winter pruningSj at regular 

 distances (juile from the bcHom to the extremity 

 of the trees on every side, in such order as to 

 seem coming up reaularlv one after another; 

 and trained principally all at full length durnie, 

 their summer's growth ; but in tlie \\inter prun- 

 ing generally shortened, according to the 

 strength of the different shoots, in order to pro- 

 mote their throwing out more eflectually a sup- 

 ply of young wood the ensuing summer, from 

 the lateral eyes, in proper places for training in 

 for the next year's bearing; the fruit-buds being 

 mostly produced along their sides immediately 

 from the eyes, as they rarely form anv consi- 

 derable fruit-spurs, as in the apple, pear, &c., 

 the same sho'-.ts producing the iruit and a supply 

 of shoots at the same time for the succcedmg 

 year's bearine'. All these trees also bear on 

 casual small natural spurs, sometimes arising 

 on the two and three years' wood, one or two 

 inches in length, which are generally well fur- 

 nished with blossom buds in the proper season ; 

 and should be preserved for bearing; always 

 however depending on the main young shoots 

 as the principal bearers. 



Vines also produce their fruit always upon 

 the young wood, shoots of the same year arising 

 from the eyes of the last year's wood only, and 

 must therefore have a general supply of the best 

 regular shoots of each year trained in, which 

 in the winter pruning should be shortened 

 to a few eyes or joints, in order to force 

 out shoots from their lower parts only, pro- 

 perly situated to lay in for bearing fruit the fol- 

 lowing year. 



Figs bear also only upon the young wood of a 

 year old, a general sup])ly of it is of course ne- 

 cessary every year ; but these shoots should at 

 no time be shortened, unless the ends are dead, 

 as they always bear jirincipally towards the ex- 

 treme part of the shoots, which if shortened 

 would take the bearing or fruitful parts away. 

 And these trees mostly throw out naturally a 

 suflficient sujiply of shoots every year for future 

 bearing without the precaution of shortening 

 them. 



And as to apple-, pear-, plum-, and cherry- 

 trees, they bear principally generally on spurs 

 arising in the general branches, of from t\\o or 

 three to ten or twenty years old, the same 

 branches and spurs contiiming bearing a great 

 number of years, as has been seen, so that hav- 

 ing once procured a proper set of branches, in 

 the manner already directed, to form a spread- 

 ing head, no finther supply of wood is wanted 

 than only some occasional shoots now and then 

 to supply the place of any casual worn-out or 

 dead branch as before suggested ; these spurs or 



