3 14 THE NEW GARDENING 



bush tree, but summer pinching or pruning may come 

 into play, and operate precisely as in the case of the 

 cordons, each side branch receiving the same treatment 

 as the main (and only) stem of the cordon. Bushes may 

 thus be trained into the fruiting habit, and coerced into 

 fruit-production or at least blossom-production every 

 year. 



Summer pinching is less risky with bushes than with 

 cordons, because there are more branches on the tree 

 and consequently a much greater leaf area. This being 

 the case, extension of the leaders is not vital, nevertheless, 

 all kinds of trees do best if allowed reasonable extension, 

 and as a rule it is wise to permit a certain amount of 

 latitude in that direction. The leading shoots should 

 not be spurred back so hard as the side growths. 



Summer pinching or pruning is incomplete in itself. 

 It leaves pieces of side shoot several inches long, which 

 need cutting back to within an inch or so of the main 

 stem or stems when the tree has gone to rest. This is 

 generally spoken of as winter pruning, but it may be 

 done any time from the fall of the leaf to the sprouting 

 of the next crop of young leaves. As a matter of con- 

 venience it is generally done in winter, but the ideal 

 time is when the new growth has begun, which in the 

 case of Apples will probably be from the middle to the 

 end of April. At that period the sap is moving briskly 

 in the trees, which are in a thoroughly buoyant and 

 lively state, with the result that fresh growth follows 

 hard on the knife. 



While the grower who has a naturally deep and fertile 

 soil will be the best placed in the long run, he often has 

 a good deal of trouble in the early years of his trees, 

 because the growth is too strong. It is quite possible to 

 have a tree so vigorous that it does not bloom. A par- 



