Notes and Gleanings. 239 



NOTES AND GLEANINGS FROM FOREIGN EXCHANGES. 



Summer-Pinching, or Stopping the Growing-Shoots of Fruit-Trees. 

 — This all-important operation in fruit-cultivation now requires attention. It is 

 a practice which has often been advocated in your columns in a very clear and able 

 manner by Mr. Rivers and others ; and my only reason or excuse for adverting 

 to it here is, that frequently in the pressure of other work, at this season, it is apt 

 to be delayed and forgotten until too late. Trees grow so fast at this season, 

 that, if not seen to for a week or so, one is astounded at the progress they have 

 made ; and then the knife has to be used so unmercifully, that no wonder the trees 

 suffer through it. And again : a good thing cannot be too often repeated. It is 

 well, I think, to give frequent reminders of all important operations in their due 

 season in horticultural journals. 



The time for pinching the growing shoots of fruit-trees — apples, pears, 

 plums, cherries, apricots, and I may include peaches, although these last re- 

 quire somewhat special treatment, excepting in the case of orchard-house, bush, 

 and pyramid trees — is now at hand ; and, if success is expected to attend the 

 operation, constant supervision is now necessary. 



The advantages of a correct system of pinching are obvious to every one. 

 The work is easy and simple ; and, if done now, little or no pruning will be re- 

 quired in winter. By closely following it up, the vigor of the tree may be mod- 

 erated and regulated, so as to make every part fruitful alike ; and, with few excep- 

 tions, the most stubborn trees may be made fruitful by this simple operation. All 

 cannot be treated exactly alike. Some are of more robust growth than others, 

 and consequently require a little more liberty of action ; and a more frequent ap- 

 plication of the process is necessary than with slower-growing trees. No exact 

 rule of procedure can, therefore, well be laid down : very much must necessa- 

 rily be left to the operator's discretion. The operation should be performed 

 when the shoots are young and tender, when they will readily snap off with the 

 fingers. 



All formally-trained trees, whetlier on walls or in the open quarter, must be 

 kept in trim by the use of the thumb and finger at all events ; and the principal 

 rule to bear in mind is this : Pinch the strongest shoots first, and only these, 

 which are, in general, situated at the top of the tree ; then, in tlie course of four 

 or five days, repeat the operation with the next strongest lower down, and so on 

 in succession until all have been done ; and then begin at the top again, and so 

 on as required. Never denude the tree of a great quantity of foliage at any one 

 time, as, by so doing, a check is given which might prove injurious. Pinch the 

 most vigorous portions of the tree the hardest, and allow the weaker to grow a 

 little longer. Thus the shoots at the top of a pear-tree on a wall should be 

 pinched to two or three eyes, while at the bottom of the wall they should be 

 allowed five or six. This should be the rule ; and, by adopting it, uniformity of 

 action throughout the tree will be secured, and a regular crop of fruit. 



