240 PRUNING. 



number of rightly placed shoots to be perfected, but 

 no excess or paucity should appear. 



This, however, being, as before observed, an arti- 

 ficial state of the tree, the art of pruning (by which 

 is meant both winter and summer thinning) is in no 

 case required to be executed with more precision than 

 in the management of our forced and wall fruit-trees. 



It has already been said that the manner in which 

 a tree bears its fruit directs the pruner's operations. 

 The fruit buds of peach, nectarine, and some kinds of 

 cherries, are borne on the young moderate sized 

 shoots of the previous year. Of these, in the sum- 

 mer regulation, an abundant supply are selected and 

 preserved by being carefully fastened to the wall or 

 trellis, if so trained. At the winter, or rather spring 

 pruning, the pruner has two special objects in view, 

 first, to secure a full supply of young shoots to 

 enlarge, improve the symmetry, and fill up vacant 

 parts of the tree for the crop of next season ; and, 

 secondly, to keep a sufficient number of bearing 

 shoots to yield the crop of the present. A judicious 

 use of the knife obtains both these objects, and the 

 result shows the necessity as well as the excellence 

 of the art. 



A good pruner regards the regular form and equal 

 distribution of the bearing wood, rather than an 

 increased number of fruit which, by leaving some 

 promising shoots, might be obtained in any one 

 season. When the tree is getting thin of bearing 



