Buds 71 



theless, the bearing habit of a tree may be easily 

 changed, much to the owner's disadvantage, by severe 

 pruning. If trees are heavily pruned, and particu- 

 larly if a small crop of fruit is borne the following sea- 

 son, many of the fruit-spurs may be forced into strong- 

 growing twigs. Figure 9, from a photograph, shows such 

 an instance. There are no fruit-buds now present and 

 probably they will be produced only after two or more 

 years, when growth becomes less vigorous. 



Fruit-buds of the apple and of the pear are usually 

 terminal, but not always so. Neither must the fruit- 

 spur be two or more years old before it may bear fruit. 

 In fact, many varieties produce much of their fruit on 

 one-year-old spurs and on the tip ends of twigs of the 

 last season's growth. (See Fig. 10.) Many varieties 

 also produce flower-buds in the axils of leaves on the 

 growth of the current season, the same as the peach. 

 (See Figs. 11, 12, 13.) These facts seem not to have been 

 noticed by horticultural writers and no doubt this manner 

 of fruit production is uncommon in the East. But under 

 semi -arid conditions, where the conditions under which 

 the trees grow are most artificial, such fruit formation is of 

 common occurrence. The following tables show some of 

 the varieties that bear fruit-buds in the axils of leaves and 

 on one-year-old spurs; also the relation of such character- 

 istics to annual bearing. 



Table II, showing varieties of apples that produce blossom-buds, 

 on one-year-old spurs, on the ends of one-year-old spurs, terminal 

 growths other than spurs, from the axils of leaves on the previous 

 season's growth, and whether they are annual bearers : 



