D THE FRUIT-TREE AND SHRUB PRUNER. 



rienced and novice Peach-tree managers is, that nine out 

 of every ten of them do not actually study the consti- 

 tution of each plant, but prune without knowing 

 whether the tree should be severely treated, moderately 

 done, or not pruned at all. They serve all alike, and 

 generally speaking, among amateurs who keep a cheap 

 gardener, Peach-trees go to ruin within three or four 

 years for want of proper treatment. 



Frequently, too, fan-trained Peach-trees get barren 

 as regards fruit -bearing wood in the body of the tree, 

 and only possess it towards the extremities, because the 

 pruner is afraid to use the knife to keep the tree at 



Fig. 7. 



home ; and in course of two or three seasons the tree is 

 nearly past cure. But let me advise the young gardener 

 by no means to be timid about using the pruning knife 

 at the extremities of the tree. All trees, and especially 

 trained wall Peach-trees, are prone to make more fruit- 

 bearing wood towards the ends of the branches than 

 towards the root or at the base of the branches. 



Then young hands and inexperienced amateurs think 

 it " a thousand pities " that young wood should be cut 

 off; hence the tree rapidly deteriorates and arrives at 

 the condition of Fig. 7. But if the principle of Fig. 6 

 is carefully followed up, the tree will never get out of 



