102 



short woolly budded laterals or spurs may be left alone where not too 

 crowded. Weak spurs should be shortened back to the two wood buds 

 near the base. Where the fruiting and weak wood is too thick it may be necessary 

 to remove some altogether, but always bear in mind that fruiting wood will be 

 required for next season, as the peach and nectarine only bear on last season's 

 gi-owth. There is always a certain percentage of spurs die each year, and others 

 become exhausted or too long and useless, and these must be replaced, or long bare 

 lin^bs result. It is a good plan to always leave fruit buds in excess of what is 

 required, because not one half of the flowers set fruit. The best fruit laterals are 

 the strong shoots carrying two flower buds with a wood bud between. These should 



Pig. 123. 

 Tno iiniiiuned Peach leaders. 



be shortened back so as to only leave from four to eight of these cluster fruiting 

 buds according to the carrying capacity of the tree, and the amount of fruiting 

 wood available. In the early peaches the habit of throwing their flower buds just 

 as the sap rises is very prevalent in this State. This undoubtedly can only be 

 overcome by intense cultivation. I would advise nipping the lateral shoots 

 during the summer, or pruning them immediately the fruit is harvested. This 

 would have the effect of strengthening the buds, or else, leave the pruning until 

 the pink of the blossom shows, for those buds which r_main up to that stage do 

 not fall and there is no risk of cutting oft the fruit when pruning. Then shorten 

 back those which show an excess of blossom, leaving others entirely alone and 



