THE PEAR 



121 



Side Branch in Growth 



produce better fruit and more fertile branches that disbudding is resorted to. 

 We will take the previous year's main shoots first. These will very seldom 

 show any blossom buds the first year, although occasionally a few are formed 

 at the extreme ends of the shoots, and they should be allowed to bear fruit, 

 as usually it is of excellent quality. These young shoots will vary in length 

 from 12 to 18 inches, and will, 

 when breaking into growth in 

 spring, produce from eight to 

 twelve or more small shoots. 

 Five will be quite enough to fur- 

 nish spurs for this length of 

 shoot for the following year, 

 therefore they should be reduced 

 to this number, and so that they 

 are equally distributed the whole 

 length of the shoot. Spring and 

 summer pruning possess one great 

 advantage over winter pruning, 

 because then it is impossible to 



be in doubt as to which is a flower ^'^ Extension growth stopped ; {d) side shoots shortened 

 . I , , . , . to three ieaves, not counting small basal ones ; le) spurs. 



bud and which is a wood bud. 



When winter pruning nothing is more difficult to the amateur and beginner 

 than to be able to tell the difference between a wood bud and a fruit bud. 

 The fruit buds are short, thick, and blunt at the end, containing as they do 

 the embryo flowers. The wood bud is longer and thinner, and tapering instead 

 of being blunt at the end. Having explained the manner in which last year's 

 shoots should be disbudded, it only remains now to treat of the main branches 

 in the same way. They ought to have flowering spurs at least every 10 

 inches, each of which often produces three or four clusters of flowers. These 

 should be reduced to two, reserving, of course, the best. Two clusters would 

 really be enough, as at most we can only have two fruits to a spur ; but as frost 

 and much inclement weather have to be reckoned with, we must be on the 

 safe side, and consequently retain two of the clusters of flowers until a good set 

 of fruit is secured. 



Wood buds on the main branches are also usually produced in super- 

 abundance. Numbers of these will cluster round the blossom buds, and should 

 in the first instance be reduced by disbudding to three at distances apart of 

 6 to 8 inches all along the branch, afterwards reducing them to two if any 

 tendency to overcrowding is observed. The shoots from these wood buds 

 should be allowed to grow freely until about the middle of July, by which time 

 they will have attained almost their full length, then they should be cut 

 back to within six or seven buds of their bases. (Terminal shoots, or those 

 wanted to fill any vacant spaces, should be retained their full length.) 

 Cutting back the shoots will help the development of the fruit buds at their 

 bases, and also exposes the tree and its crop of fruit to more air, light, and 

 warmth. All subsequent shoots that may form should be stopped at the fourth 



