THE MANSE GARDEN. 59 



all the rest. This is nearly the whole work for the 

 year as far as these kinds of fruit are concerned. 

 To have wood where you want it, for the like opera- 

 tion of the following year, cut over the vertical shoot 

 in spring, at the height of eight or nine inches from 

 the lateral branches already laid in, taking care to cut 

 immediately over a bud and not to injure it. That 

 bud will grow up for your next upright shoot; and 

 in consequence of the amputation you will in general 

 be sure of a choice for laying horizontally. There 

 is the whole mystery; and yet how often do you see 

 large pieces of valuable wall quite naked, and the 

 branches at other places so crowded as not to allow 

 the flower buds to ripen, or the fruit to acquire its 

 proper size and flavour ; and whilst it is vexing thus 

 to have the end so frustrated, there is this additional 

 aggravation, that a tree ill conducted in the hori- 

 zontal mode of training does not easily admit of any 

 future reformation. But it is certainly easy not to 

 lay the branches too thick; and to avoid blanks, it 

 is only necessary further to observe, that as you may 

 not in some cases have the requisite trio of shoots in 

 the middle of the tree, a supply for the deficiency 

 may be found by reserving the most convenient of 

 the superfluous shoots growing from the next lateral 

 branch, to be carried first upright to the required 

 height, and then set off on its proper destination. 

 The fractures that often take place in laying the 

 young wood in its proper position, when the shoots 

 have gained too much strength and hardness, will 

 soon teach the inexperienced practitioner the advan- 

 tage of bending trees at a more tender age. 



And as to the fit time of summer pruning, there 



