52 TREATISE ON FRUIT TREES. 



provided that they can be trained without clutter, the greater the satisfaction that one can 

 expect from them. 



The peach tree has a propensity to grow with excessive zeal & to reward its 

 grower. But it depletes its nascent energy in premature productivity & prepares the way 

 for an impending downfall by overloading itself with a large number of branches for 

 which it's unable to provide sufficient nourishment. So it often has to give up on a part of 

 itself that dies of insufficiency, & by constantly overdoing its own efforts it succumbs 

 within a few years. So some suitable technique must be used to restrain it without 

 deterring it, to moderate its zeal without eliminating it, to establish a proper balance 

 between its labor & its vigor & to maintain it at a reasonable level of activity that sustains 

 its strength & prolongs its life. The technique is pruning. 



VII. But pruning requires so much care & precision that a well-pruned peach tree 

 is looked upon as the gardener's masterpiece. Indeed there's nothing inconsequential 

 about it: if pruned too long, it thins out; too short, it produces only branches. If too full, it 

 becomes cluttered; if too empty, it's ruined by suckers & false wood branches. A mistake 

 in pruning a pear or an apricot tree &c. can be repaired. If it's been lengthened & filled 

 out so as to overwork it & make it bear fruit, it can be restored. The branches, even the 

 oldest ones, when cut back will produce new ones that restore the fullness, the shape, & 

 the evenness of the tree. It's not the same with the peach tree. Buds that haven't opened in 

 time stay closed permanently. A branch growing where one had been previously pruned 

 rarely grows in the right place. Once the tree has taken on a poor habit it's very difficult 

 to correct it. Consequently, mistakes once made usually can't be repaired. Still, we 

 needn't always give up hope. A dozen peach trees planted against a wall in an enclosure 

 were so neglected or even forgotten 



