10 FORMING THE TREE. 



loosened and re-tied; or cut on the back side, if the bud is found 

 well united with the stock. 



The next spring after budding, the stock is cut off with a sharp 

 knife, placing- the blade on the side opposite the bud at the height of 

 the cross-cut, and making an upward stroke, so that the knife will 

 come out about one inch above the bud. When growth begins it 

 will be found that the buds of the stock will start more vigorously 

 than the one inserted, and when they are an inch or two long, 

 they should be broken off, that the growth may all go with the 

 inserted bud. 



NURSERY CULTURE. The after-treatment of the bud and root- 

 graft, in the nursery, should be the same; the object being the 

 growth of clean, healthy, well-formed trees. Only one shoot 

 should be allowed to grow, and if laterals start out, they must be 

 pinched off. At the end of the first season's growth, or before 

 they start in the spring following, the stocks are to be cut back to 

 the ground, and only one shoot allowed to grow, that a clean, 

 straight trunk may be obtained. 



FORMING THE HEAD. During the summer of the second year, 

 if the growth has been satisfactory, the head is p ormed. If the 

 trees are to be planted where they must be kept cultivated, the 

 head should be formed five feet high. This is a difficult thing to 

 do, but the tree must be headed up as high as possible by rubbing 

 off the lateral buds, as soon as they start in the spring, from 

 three to four feet up from the ground, and then pinching the ends 

 of the lateral branches above; leaving a clean leader in the centre, 

 upon which laterals will be formed, as is shown by the dotted lines 

 at &, Fig. 14, Page 15. The trees must have careful attention 

 during the entire season if fine form is desired; and only those 

 shoots should be allowed to grow that are needed to make a well- 

 shaped head. A large amount of foliage should never be removed 

 from any tree; and at this stage of growth, there should not be 

 any necessity for so doing, if they have had proper treatment. 



In the growth of fruit or any other kind of trees, it should be 

 made a rule " not to cut away more wood or foliage than is 

 absolutely necessary to accomplish the desired end, i. e., the per- 

 fect-formed tree; for every cut upon a tree, whether large or 

 small, can only result in weakness, although the injury may be 

 more or less overcome by good cultivation and an abundance of 

 plant food." If the trees are making a weak growth, indicating 

 exhaustion of the soil, manure or chemical fertilizers must be 

 used ; but they should be applied late in the fall or early in the 

 spring, as a late summer application often results in so late a 

 growth of the trees that the wood does not get well ripened, and 

 the trees are injured in the winter. 



