THE PEACH AND NECTARINE. 157 



at the top of the tree. In practice, all other things 

 being equal, there is little difficulty experienced in 

 thus furnishing the lower portions of the tree with 

 bearing wood. All cutting should be effected with 

 a sharp thin knife ; and whenever it becomes neces- 

 sary to remove an old limb, the wound should be 

 painted solidly over with white paint. 



I have already referred to what is termed Seymour's 

 system of training, from its having been first adopted 

 at Carlton Hall, in Yorkshire, by a gardener of that 

 name. By this system a tree of great regularity and 

 neatness is formed. It differs from the fan system of 

 training in there being no lateral growths' allowed on 

 the lower sides of the leading branches. Fig. 1 7 will 

 illustrate this mode of training. "The first step in 

 starting a newly-planted maiden tree upon Seymour's 

 system is to head the plant down to three eyes, each 

 of which eyes will produce a shoot in summer : at 



FIG. 17. 



pruning-time head down the centre shoot of these to 

 three eyes, to produce in the following summer three 

 more shoots as before, leaving the side shoots always 

 at full length. In spring all the buds on the lower 

 sides of these side branches, and these from 9 to 12 



