78 TREATISE ON 



When only two have grown out that meet these conditions, whatever they are, even if 

 they're unmistakably suckers, I keep them despite the opposite practice of most other 

 gardeners. 1°. Because they're fit to be used as a base & a foundation for a tree, & at 

 present that's the only objective. 2°. Because with a little care & attention they'll lose or 

 modify their bad features & will yield excellent branches, both for fruit and for wood. 



In June I train the branches that I've saved. I arrange & hold them down in a way 

 appropriate for them to adopt from the outset the tendencies that they should always 

 maintain. 



II 11 . YEAR. First Pruning. (Fig. 2.) In the middle of the following February I 

 prune the branches from three to eight inches, more or less according to their strength. If 

 the wall is six to eight feet high & the previous year I've kept only two branches, one on 

 either side, they'll be inadequate to form a tree of such a size. I therefore prune them back 

 to three or four buds so that two strong branches will emerge from the end of each one. 

 Upon these I'll grow the entire structure of the tree. Fig, T. 



Several gardeners cut back right onto the trunk, or prune the first year's branches 

 back to a single bud in order, so they say, that the base & the roots of the tree will 

 strengthen. But (Prop. 1 .) what happens is completely the opposite. Very often the tree 

 doesn't put out any new growth where these branches had been inserted, but produces 

 others elsewhere that are poorly situated & weaker than those of the previous year. As a 

 result, the harm to the tree from this practice at minimum will retard it for a year. 



In May I inspect the new growths on the tree, & if a strong branch has grown out 

 from the trunk 



