68 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation 



healthy leaf bud. This, by decreasing the number 

 of fruit buds on the lateral, will result in the forma- 

 tion of larger-sized fruits than if all the fruit buds 

 had been left, and the cutting back to a leaf bud will 

 probably force out new lateral growth at that place, 

 which may be utilized as fruiting wood at the next 

 winter's pruning. 



Some varieties of peaches have the habit of having 

 their flower buds at the end of the laterals. If these 

 are all shortened back the succeeding crop will be 

 lost. If they are all left long there will probably be 

 a heavy crop of small-sized fruit, but owing to the 

 . sap flowing along the laterals being practically all 

 taken up in crop production, there will probably be 

 but a poor growth of fresh wood arising from the 

 laterals for the formation of the following season's 

 fruit. In such case, to obtain an average crop of 

 good-sized fruit for a succession of years, it is 

 necessary that a number of these laterals should be 

 cut back to strong healthy leaf buds or to their base 

 buds, so as to force out new shoots that may be 

 utilized for the production of the following season's 

 crop. 



THE PEAR. 



As with the apricot and the peach, the pear is 

 usually trained as an inverted cone, having a fringe 

 of outer limbs and a hollow centre. 



For the first three years the object of pruning is 

 to give the tree a broad base. This is done by cut- 

 ting out all upright growth and pruning the lateral 

 limbs to outward-pointing buds, leaving a piece of 

 the old wood above the top bud, which is removed 

 at the following winter's pruning. 



At the first winter's pruning three to four short 

 main arms should be left; at the second winter's 

 pruning a well-grown tree should have from six to 



