1850. 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



148 



it mnre extensively propagated. The pyramidal sys- 

 tem of training the apple, the pear, and the cherry, 

 is so simple and beantifnl, that it must meet with 

 universal favor aniontj the projirietors of small {war- 

 dens. The peach and the apricot can be kept small 

 enoiirrh for any moderately sized garden, by having 

 them low headed and properly shortened in. Where 

 very small trees are desirable, they may be worked 

 on phim stocks. A few years ago, when we com- 

 menced the introduction of these trees, many persons 

 who pretended to know something about tree culture, 

 but in reality knew nothing, raised a cry against 

 dwarf trees as being "short lived and worthless;" 

 but sve hear nothing of that sort now. People begin 

 to understand that if they don't live a hundred years, 

 they bear early, look very well in their gardens, and 

 are easily replaced when they die out by old age. 



SUMMER MANAGEMENT OF PTKAMroAL TREES. 



No matter how well trees may have been pruned 

 before the growing season commenced, a little atten- 

 tion during summer is absolutely necessary. It is 

 impossible for the most skillful pruner in existence 

 to cut exactly, in all cases, at the proper point, or at 

 least at the point that would induce the precise devel- 

 optnent of buds and branches that he wants ; certain 

 buds will push with greater or less vigor than he had 

 reason to expect, from their appearance and position, 

 and thus the balance prop<ised to be maintained is 

 broken. In such cases we must, at the proper 

 moment, when growth is going on, resort to what is 

 called pinching — nipping o'T with the finger and 

 thumb (a sharp knife is better,) the point of such 

 shoots as are exceeding their due relative proportions. 

 The leading shoot, that is intended to constitute the 

 main trunk of the tree, should always take the lead ; 

 none of the lateral or side shoots should be permitted 

 to dispute its supremacy. The annexed cut is in- 

 tended to illustrate a case of this kind. B is the 

 leading shoot, and A, A, side shoots, both of which 

 h>.ve taken a more sturdy development than i^^ con- 

 sistent with the welfare of the leader and the pyra- 

 midal form of the tree. If A, A, had been timely 

 nipped, the branches below them and the leader above 

 would all have had their just proportions. We there- 

 fore point this out as an item of very great importance 

 in growing pyramidal pears. When the tree is left 

 to itself during the whole seaso.i, and in the fall we 

 find it grown so out of proportion as the annexed cut, 

 a great deal of severe pruning is necessary to restore 

 the balance ; these strong branches next the leader 

 have to be cut to one eye perhaps, and the whole 

 pyramid is injured and considerably retarded. What 

 we have said has reference mainly to the leading shoot 

 and those in its vicinity ; but it applies with exactly 

 the same force to all the main side branches, which 

 may be considered as so many leading shoists, and 

 will require the same care and treatment. 



There is another evil that must be remedied by 

 pinching : for instance, when we cut a leading shoot 

 or a side shoot, expecting that all, or nearly all, the 

 buds below the point where we cut, to break and 

 make side shoots or spurs, and, contrary to our ex- 

 pectations, only two or thri-e at the extremity grow, 

 leaving the others dormant. To make these lower 

 buds break, we must pinch those above them at a 

 very early day, ^ his checks the flow of sap and 

 concentrates it in the lower parts, causing the buds 

 there to break. This is the way to have all branches 



covered with fruit spurs their whole length. Pyra- 

 inidal pear trees on quince stocks are naturally so 

 fruitful, generally speaking, that pinching to form 

 fruit buds and spurs is rarely necessary. The prin- 

 cipal point to keep in view is the form. On pear 

 stocks, however, both objects must be kept ifl view, 

 .^11 we have suggested on this point will bo neces- 

 sary in both cases. Pinching to promote fruitfuliiess 

 consists in pinching or breaking ofl' the ends of the 

 small side shoots, stopping their elongation and turn- 

 ing the sap into the formation of fruit buds. This 

 is practiced continually as growth advances and the 

 condition of the trees render it proper, principally 

 through July and August. 



This pinching to promote iVuitfuIness requires 

 more skill and practice in pruning, and much more 

 physiological information respecting trees, than any 

 other pruning. If done too soon or too severely, the 

 object is defeated by having the buds break into new 

 shoots, instead of forming fruit buds, thus requiring 

 pinching and pinching again, before the object is 

 attained. Vigorous and feeble growers require dif- 

 ferent degrees of pinching, and require it to be done 

 at dilTerent seasons. Ditferent soils and climate all 

 affect this matter so much that no general rules can 

 be safely adopted. Some rank growers on free stocks 

 cannot be brought into bearing by this means, until 

 the pinching and pruning are so severe as to weaken 

 to some extent the whole force of the tree. Root 

 pruning has the same efl'ect, and in such cases is 

 quite necessary : but this must be done in the fall, 

 when growth has terminated. 



Thanks. — We are under obligations to Thos. 

 Hancock, Esq., of the Ashton Nurseries, Burlington, 

 N. J., for a packet of seeds of the "Roimd Borneo 

 Citron," a splendid varietv, that took the Pennsylva- 

 nia Horticultural Society's premium, last September. 



