20 PICTORIAL PEAOTIOAL FRUIT GUOWINO. 



which they cut. Such stumps are a source of danger to the tree, as they 

 inevitably decay. The cuts should be made with a' sharp knife close to 

 the bud, then no "snag" is left. (See Fig. 11, page 21, and Fig. 12, 

 page 22.) 



Peaches and Nectarines. — Bearing, as these fruits do, mainly on 

 the young wood, summer pruning and subsequent spurring, so important 

 with most fruits, are out of place. It is true that when they are grown in 

 pots, under conditions which do not permit of space for free extension, 

 spurs may be encouraged to develop, but that is a phase of culture which 

 must be left for the present. We have seen already that the best form of 

 tree is the fan, and that the way in which it is formed is to cut back the 

 " maiden," and to again shorten the branches hard at the two year old 

 ilage. This results in a number of shoots which form the "ribs" of the 

 'nn, and between them are laid the young shoots that are to bear the fruit. 

 Theoretically the system is easy enough, and there is no reason why it 

 should not work out in practice. It is probable that the principal 

 difficulties of the novice are (1) the shoots (" lorerights ") that stick out at 

 right angles to the trellis from the face of the main shoots, and (2) how 

 to reconcile the interests of removing the old wood after fruiting with that 

 of retaining enough young extension wood for the next year's crop, since a, 

 great part of this pushes from the upper part of the fruiting shoot. These 

 difficulties can easily be smoothed away. (1) Forerights cannot be neatly 

 laid in, and should be cut clean out. (2) When the shoot which is to bear 

 is disbudded in the spring, a bud should be left at the base as well as at the 

 tip. The latter will serve a good purpose in drawing up the sap, but there 

 need be no hesitation in parting with it when the time comes to cut out the 

 old fruiting shoot, because the basal bud left has broken into growth, and 

 there is an extension shoot all ready to take the place of the one removed. 

 (See Fig. 13, e, page 23.) 



In disbudding a fruiting shoot when growth starts in spring, do it by 

 degrees ; it imparts too great a check to remove all the buds at once 

 (Fig. 14, page 25). "With respect to the time for removing the old fruit- 

 ing shoots, an opportunity may be chosen any time after the fruit has been 

 gathered. 



Plums.— Like one or two other fruits, Plums produce growths inter- 

 mediate between extension shoots and spurs, termed, from want of a better 

 name, stubs. Anyone who examines an established tree is likely to find 

 three distinct classes of growth, the first being extension shoots, the second 

 stubs, and the third spurs. Extension or growth shoots, usually quite 

 destitute of fruit buds, or at the most having one or two, are more prominent 

 in young than in old trees. When the grower is making a start with young 

 Plum trees he has plenty of shoots under his eye ; in fact, the chances are 

 that he sees a good deal too many, for the Plum is a gross tree. The 

 remedy for excessive vigour is root pruning, which will be dealt with in <i 

 subsequent chapter. For the moment it will suffice to deal with the 

 branches. 



The exact method of dealing with growth shoots, like A in Fig. 15, page 26, 

 depends on circumstances. If the tree is well furnished with them, they 

 should be left untouched, and will then merely extend at the tip ; but if the 

 tree is quite young and unfurnished, they may be shortened so as to cause 

 others to break. When a tree is well furnished with growths similar to JB, 

 much cutting back is a mistake, for it only multiplies shoots to such an 

 ' {Gontimied on page 24.) 



