If \yell oared for, tlie tree is a strung, wild grower, and fur the first four years it 

 sliould be liotli sunmrer and winter ])runed, priming tlie leaders and thinning 

 them, as well as the lateral growth. The suinmer treatment is permissible only 

 when the trees are strong and vigorous ; but the lateral growth may be treated 

 during every summer uj) to the fourth or fifth year. Summer pruning should not, 

 as a rule, be jjractised after the tree has settled into good bearing habits and 

 tlie wood-growth has steadied. 



Summer pruning hastens tlie building-up of the tree and brings it into bearing 

 earlier, as well as helping to form a sturdy, strong tree and to check the natural 

 tendency of the apricot, when young, to grow wild and rampant. 



Both the summer and the winter prunings should be fairly hard for the first 

 tliree or four years, after which the leaders should be left longer. The tree is 

 naturalljr prolific and early in its bearing : if planted in suitable soil and situation, 

 and well cared for, it bears a good croji in its fourth year. It throws out short 

 laterals, which are the fruiting spurs, all round tlie main and secondary arms ; 

 and light and air circulation are well provided by the wide system of pruning, which 

 ensm-es the full ripening and development of the fruiting wood. By heading off 

 during summer, the required number of leaders are quickly obtained, and it is not 

 then desirable to have any further forks or branching. The summer pruning 

 will develop plenty of fruiting laterals, but after the discontinuance of summer 

 treatment the leaders should in the winter pruning be headed just above the cluster 

 of small lateral growth usually to be found about half-way up the last season's 

 growth. This causes the sap to be slightly checked, resulting in the buds below 

 the cluster throwing out light laterals. With proper attention to this point, no 

 bare wood will result along the leaders. As the top growth ceases, the pruning 

 becomes much more severe, because it is then necessary to prune the 

 leaders hard in order to encourage top growth, and the clusters referred to are not 

 required for chocking the sap-flow. 



Figure 78 shows a five-year old apricot which has been both summer and 

 winter pruned for the previous four years. It is now bearing heavy crops of fruit, 

 and the sunnner treatment has ceased. Figure 79 shows the same tree pruned 

 and Figure 80 the same tree in flower. It will be noticed that the leaders 

 have been headed just above the cluster referred to previously ; this will cause 

 the bare wood below to develop fruiting spurs, similar Ij' to that seen on the 

 previous year's wood below. Notice how well distributed the fruiting wood is from 

 base upwards ; no bare limbs exist, yet there is no crowding of the fruiting wood, 

 which is nicely spaced and distributed throughout the tree. The tree has 24 

 leaders, which have not been forked or branched for the last two seasons. The 

 base of the tree is wide, the tree open and roomy, without any crowding, while the 

 limbs are strong and the forks wide. Thus the tree is able to carry and mature 

 a heavy load of fruit without fear of its breaking, or of its being knocked about 

 by the wind. Although there are 24 leaders in this tree, air and light have free 

 entry everywhere, even when the tree is in foliage, as will be seen on reference to 

 Figure 80a, showing the same tree in foliage. The leaders will now be gradually 

 shortened at each pruning, because every year the tree will make less and less 

 top growth. 



When pruning for fruiting wood, every care must be given to the thinning 

 and shortening in of the longer laterals to from four to six buds, cutting just beyond 

 fruit Ijuds and to a wood bud ; otherwise the tree is liable to overbear and pro- 

 duce small, unmarketable fruit ; and, apart from this, the spurs will be too long. 

 The short laterals are best left alone until after bearing, when they sliould be cut 

 back gradually, as they begin to branch. Water shoots, unless needed to fill a 

 space caused lay the breaking or rerao-v'al of a limb, are best removed flush, but in 



