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part drying up or decaying, and the sap poisoning the other parts of 

 the tree and favouring the gumming, one of the worst diseases of 

 stone-fruit trees. 



The same peach tree after pruning. 



After seven or eight years the growth of the main branches 

 will slacken, and the pruning will consist mainly of the 

 cutting out the twigs that bore fruit the previous year; (2) thin- 

 ning out the twigs that will bear the following year; (3) cutting 

 back half to two eyes and trimming the longer twigs of the 

 remainder. The latter will depend on the location of the fruit 

 buds. In shy-bearing varieties, where the fruit buds are towards 

 the extremity of the twigs, the cutting back is omitted. In the case 

 of heavy bearers, like Early Crawford, Foster, Elberta, that have 

 plenty of fruit buds all along the twigs, there will still be plenty 

 left after cutting back. Do likewise with the Nectarine and the 

 Almond. 



Very vigorous trees are sometimes shy bearers, and can be 

 induced to bear by continued summer pruning, and occasionally 

 an autumn root pruning. In a good season, when fruit sets well, 

 thinning out when about the size of a marble, and before the kernel 

 has hardened, will prevent breakages owing to overloading, and also 



