Pruning and Training 



leaf and as soon as possible after the fruit is 

 gathered. 



Morello cherries fruit on the wood produced in the 

 previous year, and they should be treated like 

 peaches, i.e., the old wood is thinned out, and 

 replaced by young shoots when the trees are trained 

 on fences or walls. When grown as bushes, how- 

 ever, they may also be left unpruned as advised for 

 the other cherries. 



CURRANTS. 



The pruning of white and of red currants is prac- 

 tically the same as described for " bush " apples 

 and pears. The young growth is shortened back, the 

 side shoots to three buds, and the leading shoots to 

 a bud pointing in an outward direction. The prun- 

 ing of the side shoots may be done during the 

 summer, but the leading shoots should be left till 

 autumn as a rule. The removal of whole branches 

 is sometimes necessary, particularly when the bushes 

 have been neglected for a year or two. The centre 

 of the bush should be kept quite open. The fruit 

 buds are produced chiefly on the older wood, 

 especially at the base of the young shoots. They are 

 similar to wood buds, and beginners should learn 

 to recognise them before commencing to prune. 



The . pruning of black currants is altogether 

 different. The fruit is produced on the young wood, 

 and the oldest wood is cut out to admit light and air. 

 Black currants are not as a rule pruned hard enough. 

 The old wood should be ruthlessly sacrificed to make 

 room for strong young shoots. Sucker growths 

 from below the ground should be encouraged, as 

 the finest fruit is often produced on wood of this 

 kind. For this reason, too, the buds are not 



24 



