149 



At the fourth season of pruning, the fruit spur has fructified, 

 and has formed at its termination a spongy swelling called a purse, 

 while it carries at its base smaller buds, which become flower buds 

 in the course of two years or so. 



Should one of these buds grow into a vigorous shoot A, it is 

 pinched back at C ; the swollen purse, being 

 liable to decomposition, should be cut off 

 at the top, as shown in the figure. The 

 buds on the dart are now a little more 

 advanced, and will soon burst out into 

 blossom, which at the subsequent winter 

 pruning, after fruiting, is treated like the 

 basal buds carrying the purse, as shown 

 above, and so are the bads on the terminal 

 shoots. 



As illustrated and mentioned aboye, 

 the fruit spurs, after bearing, often after 

 Fruit -spur with small branch a year or two produce new flower buds 

 pinched. a t their base, these spurs having rami- 



fied as shown in the figure ; so also the 



fruit spurs on the darts, which, after eight years or so, will be 

 somewhat as represented in the accompanying figure, and after a 

 few more years will represent the appearance shown in the woodcut. 



Six years' ramified fruit spur. 



Eight years' fruit spurs on a dart. 



It is now advisable, in order to have fine fruit, to cut some of 

 these buds back, so as to insure to the fruit a sufficient supply of 

 sap, and this is done as show r n above. The sap then forces into 



frowth some fresh dormant buds at the base of the enlargement, 

 f the fruit buds have already grown to large dimensions, they are 

 gradually cut back, the first year to B, and the following at C, and 

 the next at D. Should they be cut straight away at D, there will 



NOTE. Most of the illustrations givtu in tlie chapters on pruning the apples, p 

 and apricots are from Du E retail's "Culture of Fruit Trees." A.D. 



ears, 



