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fractured. They will, after a few years, also carry basal fruit buds 
and darts. 
The third year after pinching back the young terminal shoot, 
the basal buds (see page 147) have only developed a rosette of 
flowers, having a bud in the centre, and have increased a little in 
length. They now have the appearance shown in the figure 
illustrating a matured fruit spur, the bud being plumper. They 
blossom the following spring, and are now matured fruit spurs 
(as seen below) :— 
Matured fruit spur. 
Two-year-old darts. Fruit spur after first 
fructification 
At that period the darts have also developed several fruit 
buds, and probably also the shoots at the top end of the branch. 
At the fourth season of pruning, the fruit spur has fructified, 
and has formed at its termination a spongy swelling called a purse, 
while it carries at its base smaller buds, which become flower buds 
in the course of two years or so. 
Should one of these buds grow into a vigorous shoot A, it is 
pinched back at C; the swollen purse, being liable to decomposition, 
Fruit spur with small branch 
pinched. 
should be cut off at the top, as shown 
in the figure. The buds on the dart are 
now alittle more advanced,and will soon 
burst out into blossom, which at the 
subsequent winter pruning, after fruiting, 
is treated like the basal buds carrying 
the purse, as shown above, and so are 
the buds on the terminal shoots. 
As illustrated and mentioned above, 
the fruit spurs, after bearing, often 
after a year or two produce new flower 
buds at their base, these spurs having 
ramified as shown in the figure; so also 
the fruit spurs on the darts, which, 
after eight years or so, will be some- 
