FRUIT TREES. Chap. IV. 81 



If the tree were not so young, I'd lengthen it, or I'd even leave the small branches intact 

 & I'd prune the wood branches short. Because if the latter branches are pruned long, they 

 put out shoots only at their tips, and gaps necessarily will appear when the small branches 

 die. That's why I said (Prop. 5.) that if one side gets overgrown, it has to be pruned short 

 & filled up with small branches. (This proposition will be clarified further below). But 

 our young tree, because of its habit, leaves no gap to be concerned about; I prune the 

 principal shoots of branch n o almost to the same length as those on the other branches. 

 3°. On the other hand, I thin out branch u x 9 even disposing of the medium-sized branch z. 

 I only prune the strong branches & I train them slightly less horizontally than those of 

 branch n o. 4°. As to branches r s &ty, since they're below the others & form the lower 

 part of the tree, I retain only the good wood & fruit branches there. I eliminate all the 

 stunted & twig branches, & only the upper branches are pruned a bit longer. The pruned 

 tree is shown in Fig. 6. 



We've accomplished the objective that we had set for ourselves. The shape of the 

 tree is determined and assured. We've already even gathered the first fruits of its produce, 

 or it's ready to present them to us. As it gets larger, we'll reduce the length that it's 

 pruned & reduce the number of branches that could have been necessary to fill it out, to 

 suppress the overgrowth of its early youth. Nevertheless, we'll continue to manage it 

 according to the same principles & to control it by the same rules; we'll only change the 

 technique. But before presenting a brief final summary, we'll add a further point. 



Pruning consists only of general rules; it can't have any other kind. 1°. Because 

 species, variety, age. 



