Jeader into t]ie wide but weak second slioot, will certainly cause the tree to spread ; 

 but 1 am entirely opposed to the principle, for there is too much risk attached to 

 its practice, as it is noticeable that in the case of young trees the second bud does 

 not always shoot. Should the second bud fail to shoot, the gi'ower is in a most 

 unfortunate position ; he has ruined his tree for good by throwing the shoot 

 inward. During this season, in t■^^■o districts, I came across trees which, as the 

 I'esult of this practice, had been tlirown inwards instead of outwards. 



Where an outside lateral happens on upright growers, by all means make use 

 of it to form a fork or to widen the base by throwing the leaders into tlie lateral ; 

 but I caution growers not to make a practice of pruning to inside buds with the (.)b- 

 ject of widening the base of the tree, (iet all the strength and growth possible into 

 your main leaders, and this you can do with certainty only by obtaining the growth 

 on the terminal bud left in the previous pruning of the leader. There is, besides, 

 no necessity for the practice of pruning to an inside bud in order to spread the 

 tree, for you can obtain the required results from the top outside bud if the shoot 

 is pruned well abo\'e, although it will not throw so wide as the weaker lower shoot. 

 When the leader is pruned close to the bud, the shoot goes straight up, perpen- 

 dicular to its parent ; but if the leader is pruned well abo\-e the required bud, pruning 

 just below the bvrd above it, the shoot canniit grow straight up, and is forced out 

 at a wider angle, just as a lateral shoot grows ; the angle at which tlie top shoot 

 gr(.)ws being governed entirely by the strength of the shoot. The illustration 

 siiows limbs pruned well above the Vjud : the second bud has certainly thrown 

 wider owing to its being of weaker growth. 



I trust, therefore, groweis will consider this sure and safe method of directing 

 growth in place of the risky one. 1 have always succeeded in spreading my base 

 by pruning well above the bud. Let any grower pause and study the 

 illustration, and he will at once recognise tliat it is impossible for the bud to grow 

 at any but a wide angle with the strip of wood abo\'e the bud. In these illustrations 

 tlie top shoots are particularly vigorous, being four feet long, and half-inch in 

 diameter at the base of the new wood. The stub sliown must, of course, be 

 removed in the following winter. 



Note. — If it is necessary to throw a leading shoot wide, whether outwards for 

 an upright gi'ower, or inwards for a wide grower, prune well above the bud, so 

 as to leave a bare stub at least one inch long. If requiring to grow the leading shoot 

 straight up, jierpendicular to its parent stem, prune close to the bud. The reason why 

 a lateral gi'ows at a wide angle to its parent stem is simply that the wood above 

 prevents its growth in an ujiright direction. A stub of a cjuarter of an inch in 

 length abo\'e the bud will throw the shoot only slightly out, but a stub one 

 inch long will throw the shoot well out, the angle of its growth being governed 

 by the strength of the shoot. 



Objects of Pruning* 



The objects of pruning are to regulate fruit-production both as to equality 

 and quantity, and to extend the tree's jDroductiveness over long periods. , , , 



Nature, if left to herself, seeks merely to reproduce herself, and the tree, unless 

 as.sisted by intelligent helji, generally lacks Cjuality in its production and gradu- 

 ally goes back in legularity of bearing, eventually producing unpalatable and 

 inferior fruit ; and the tree soon becomes a wreck. 



