PINCHING— BUD-NIPPING 121 



shoots, will grow stronger, while the strong part, 

 with its small number of buds, will become weaker. 

 Both effects will tend to the same result : the restora- 

 tion of the desired symmetry. 



"With the ends of the fingers and the help of the 

 thumb-nail, it is customary to pinch off from the 

 too vigorous side the tips of the young branches 

 while they are still tender. This operation we may 

 call pinching. The sap that would have been used 

 for the development of these branches is diverted 

 from its course and carried toward the weak shoots, 

 which it renews and stimulates. If the weak side 

 itself needs pinching to arrest shoots that impair 

 the desired symmetry, the operation is postponed as 

 long as possible, while on the strong side it is car- 

 ried out very early. The sap thus turned away 

 from the vigorous side toward the ailing one has a 

 whole season in which to restore the lost equilibrium. 



"Instead of limiting ourselves to pinching off the 

 tips of the young shoots with our thumb-nail, we 

 can suppress them altogether while they are still 

 tender. This is done as early as possible on the 

 strong side, only the indispensable shoots being left. 

 If it is necessary on the weak side, it is not done 

 until the latest possible moment. This operation 

 we may style bud-nipping, since the word 'bud,' by 

 which we designate the germ of the future branch 

 when it is still enveloped in scales, applies also for 

 the sake of convenience to the branch already de- 

 veloped but still young and tender. It is evident 

 that nipping off the buds from the strong part tends, 



