FRUIT-TREES. 89 



always bloflbm firft:, and if fome of them 

 be quite cut off, the vigour of thofe re- 

 maining will be increafed, and the more 

 vigorous the branches are, the longer it wiU 

 be before they bloifom j for it is obfervable, 

 that thofe kinds of ftandards be'ore men- 

 tioned, produce moft fruit i:ear, but below 

 fuch parts of their branches as were cnte 

 the end of a year's flioot, and on fuch 

 branches as are horizontal or declining 5 

 for which reafon I think it beft to leave 

 vigorous (landardsunpruned, till they have 

 bloffomed, or only to take out fome of the 

 upright branches that would gall others. 



Perhaps it may be faid, that of two of 

 thefe trees, the one cut and the other un- 

 cut, the former will produce better fruit 

 when it bears than the latter. I grant it 

 will, were the latter never cut at all 5 and 

 that pruning after bloffoming, as I hinted 

 before, is very ferviceable to ftandards in 

 the following cafes, which are manifeft 

 figns of their want of it. Firft, when 

 they bloffom much, but bear no fruit, 

 which fhews that they are too weak, and 

 that part of their branches ought to be cut 

 gff, by which thofe that are left will receive 



a greater 



