26 FRUIT AND ITS CULTIVATION. 



standards. Such trees, growing as they are on free 

 stocks, are best allowed to grow naturally; then they 

 will develop fruit spurs freely at the base of their shoots. 

 The pernicious system of cutting back the young growths 

 in summer only leads to the production of a mass of weak 

 lateral growths and few fruit buds. 



Winter Pruning. When apple trees have been judi- 

 ciously summer pruned, the winter pruning is a compara- 

 tively simple matter. Summer pruning is practised with 

 the view to promoting the formation of fruit buds, and 

 winter pruning for the encouragement of future healthy 

 new growth, and improving or maintaining the symmetry 

 of the tree. Thus in winter, in the case of bushes or 

 pyramids, all lateral shoots that were shortened in summer 

 to four leaves will require to be pruned to the third bud 

 from their base. Leading shoots i.e., those growing 

 at the extremities of the branches, and which were sum- 

 mer pruned to a foot will need to be cut back according 

 to their vigour, and to such an extent as will maintain 

 the symmetry of the tree. Thus, one shoot may only 

 need shortening to six or eight buds, another to four 

 buds, and so on. Again, shoots that are very vigorous 

 require less shortening than a weak one. To cut back 

 severely a very strong shoot would encourage excessive 

 growth the following season ; and to fail to prune a weak 

 shoot sufficiently would tend to promote still weaker 

 growth another season. All weak growths in the centre 

 of a tree should be entirely removed. 



Cordons and espaliers require all lateral growths to be 

 pruned to three buds, and the leaders left untouched until 

 the tree has reached its allotted height or length. Stan- 

 dards and half-standards merely require to have their 

 branches thinned out where crowded, and the centre of 

 the tree kept well open. There should be no shortening 

 of the shoots ; they should be left to grow unrestrictedly. 

 For further details, see article on " Pruning " elsewhere. 



Root Pruning. This is a most important phase of fruit 



