216 



PRUNING. 



parts of the tree. A veiy general error in conducting 

 trees of this kind, and indeed all others, is to allow the 

 branches to be too close to each other, so that when they 

 come to bear, the wood, foliage, and fruit, on the interior, 

 are so excluded from the air and light that they all 

 suifer. The fruit is imperfect, and the spurs become 

 feeble and gradually i^erish. The tree has now two 

 branched sections, each from twelve inches to two feet, as 

 the case may be, and with four to six branches on each ; 

 the leading shoot is from one to three feet in length. 



The a veraffe hei2:ht 

 of three year old trees, 

 on the quince in our 

 grounds, transplanted at 

 one year old, and twice 

 pruned, is five to six 

 feet. A few very vigo- 

 rous growing varieties, 

 that throw up a leader 

 every season three to four 

 feet in length, are seven 

 to eight feet; but these 

 are comparatively few in 

 number. 



Third pruning. — ^This 

 is done on precisely 

 the same principles laid 

 down for the second. 

 The leader of the stems 

 is cut back in proportion 

 to its vigor, the lateral 

 branches are also short- '" f"^' ''""^ ^^^'^ ^^^'' ""^^^ '^'^^ t^'"^^ 



pruned, having three branch sections, a. b, c, 

 ened in the same man- seven feet high, and furnished in the lower 



ner. It must always be f"'' """^ fruit spurs. The cross lines indicate 



^ the lourtli pruning. 



kept in mind that the 



Fig. 108. 



