VI. TRAINING AND PRUNING. 



ened branch than into another, and the more the branch be 

 shortened, with the more force will the sap be drawn to 

 it. Therefore, when one part of a tree becomes less 

 strong than the other, prune it shorter, so that the sap 

 may go there in greater abundance and reinforce the 

 weakened part. This shows, too, that, to have fruit, you 

 should prune long; and short, to have wood. For 

 instance, if you cut down to within two or three buds, 

 you will have nothing but strong woodj but cut off 

 in the middle, the extremity will then furnish wood, 

 the middle spurs, and the lower end, fruit shoots j 

 so also, prune not at all, and incline horizontally, and 

 you will have nothing but blossom-buds. From these 

 premises, it may be concluded, that, when you have a 

 branch given to bear, instead of pruning it long, as is the 

 practice with most gardeners, it should be pruned short 

 to produce an influx of sap sufficient to nourish and per- 

 fect the fruit ; and that the vigorous wood shoots, which 

 the French call gourmands, or gluttons, should be pruned 

 long. 



229. Fourth : If you cut a branch completely off, the 

 sap goes to the neighbouring branches and shoots. When 

 a branch, therefore, becomes diseased and is difficult to 

 eure, sacrifice it without hesitation. The neighbouring 

 branches will soon replace it, and, perhaps, in less time 

 than it would have taken in the cure, if that had been 

 possible. 



230. Fifth : Every shoot that has been topped or 

 iis-budded, throws out, from superabundance of sap, a 

 juantity of shoots and fruit buds. So, if by means of 



M 



