304 FRUIT AND ITS CULTIVATION, 



4. Damage by Pests. A common cause of unfruitful- 

 ness is allowing the buds, blossoms, young fruit, shoots, 

 and branches to be damaged by insect and fur gold pests. 

 Hence, particular care should be paid to the importance 

 of winter and summer spraying, grease-banding, etc., as 

 advised elsewhere in this work. Trees can/not make 

 healthy, normal growth, nor can they bear blossoms pos- 

 sessing the necessary stamina to ensure perfect fertilisa- 

 tion of their ovaries, if their growth be crippled by the 

 action of pests. , 



5. Conclusions. The obvious lessons to be learnt fro<m 

 the foregoing facts are: (a) Self-fertile and self-sterile 

 varieties should be grown in conjunction ; (b) due care 

 must be made to the protection of the trees whilst in 

 blos>som ; (c) proper attention must be paid to plant trees 

 suitable to the positions they are intended to occupy, also 

 to skilful pruning ; (d) avoid permitting pests a,nd diseases 

 gaining a foothold on the trees ; (e) finally, be careful as 

 to the proper selection and treatment of soils, the use of 

 suitable manures, and the general methods of cultivation 

 as laid down in these pages, then there would be fewer 

 instances of unfruitfulness. 



