432 GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS 



to form unless there is sufficient room for it to grow without over- 

 crowding the tree; either cut away the shoot completely, or prune it 

 back to form a fruit spur. The fruit of the Pear is borne upon short 

 branches, known as fruit spurs. These naturally formed fruit spurs 

 that on the wild Pear are thorny branches are produced more or less 

 by all Pear trees. By the judicious pinching and pruning of other 

 shoots, artificial fruit spurs may also be formed. We will endeavour to 

 show how this may be done. 



Take, for instance, the ends of one of the branches, i.e. the previous 

 year's growth. Some fruit spurs will probably form, and some shoots 

 will also develop. If the latter were allowed to grow throughout the 

 summer, and the following winter were pruned back to within a few 

 buds of their bases, next summer shoots would again push from these 

 buds, and the result would be a mass of growth. This evidently is not 

 the right method to adopt in order to obtain a good crop of fruit. 

 Instead of permitting the above shoots to grow until the autumn, pinch 

 them to within five or six leaves of their bases early in July. Laterals, 

 or side shoots, will develop which must also be stopped when 2 or 

 3 inches long. By following such a system, those shoots which, if 

 left to grow unchecked during summer would eventually produce 

 simply a thicket of leaves, may be induced to form flower-buds. The 

 fruit spurs, however, should not be closer together than 6 or 8 

 inches, or they, too, would probably become unfruitful. Leaf, as well 

 as flower-buds, develop upon the spurs, so that if the latter were less 

 than the above distance apart, those important factors in the well-being 

 of a Pear tree, viz. sun and air, would be excluded by the mass of 

 foliage. In pinching the summer shoots, those on the uppermost 

 branches should first be stopped, gradually descending until the whole 

 tree has been passed over. Do not pinch them all at one time, but 

 allow several days to elapse between the checking of those at the top, 

 middle, and bottom of the tree. The leading shoots of the Pear tree 

 need not be stopped, as is necessary with the laterals. Allow them to 

 remain at full length until the autumn. 



Winter Pruning. At the annual winter pruning, which may be 

 carried out in November or December, the end shoots of the various 

 leading branches should be left about 9 inches or 12 inches long, 

 according to their vigour. Always cut back to a bud that points 

 away from the centre of the tree, so that there may be no danger 

 of the resulting shoot growing inwards. At the winter pruning the 

 branches may be regulated, and the true shape of the tree preserved. 

 If any branches have grown inwards, or across others, cut them 

 away; also remove all dead or cankered shoots, and those that are 

 very weak. 



During the hot summer months do not allow the ground immediately 

 around the Pear trees to become hard and dry. Either cover it with 

 manure, or run the hoe over it frequently, so as to keep the surface soil 

 loose to maintain moisture by reducing evaporation. In a dry season 

 water hardy fruit trees in the open sometimes, especially when the fruits 



