FRUITS. CHAP. 



'till after the fruit has attained a considerable size ; that 

 it is essential always to prune with a very sharp knife ; 

 that the cut ought to be from below, upwards, beginning 

 behind a bud, and finishing near its opening, taking good 

 care not to hurt it. A rubbishing p run ing-knife, a thing 

 made of bad stuff, or in bad shape, will spoil any set of 

 trees in the world. The best pruning-knives that I have 

 ever seen are made by MR. RICHARDSON of Kensington. 



226. Preliminary observations. First: The sap of trees 

 tends always to mount perpendicularly from the root to 

 the top, flowing through the straight branches, and there 

 producing wood instead of fruit. Therefore, when you 

 wish to restore equality between two branches of which 

 one is more weak than the other, bend the more vigorous 

 one down a little and raise the other, and it will soon 

 overtake it. Also, when you wish a tree to furnish well 

 at bottom, you must prevent the sap mounting to the 

 head by inclining the upper branches downwards and 

 pruning them long, and, if necessary, by means of the 

 annulary incision. 



227. Second : the less the sap has of direct channels"; 

 the less it can freely circulate between the bark, the 

 more it will produce of branches and fruit-buds. Thus, it 

 is, perhaps, that the graft and the annulary incision, by 

 stopping the progress of the sap, augment the quantity, 

 and improve the quality of the fruit. So, when a tree 

 runs to wood, bend the branches downwards 5 stop the 

 sap, and force it to produce fruit. 



228. Third : the sap flies more strongly into a short- 



