;is RATIONAL FRUIT CULTURE. 



time, rid themselves of some of their superfluous wood. For 

 Nature is quite capable of doing her own pruning. If a 

 branch allows itself to be so heavily overshadowed by others 

 above it that its usefulness is impaired, she gradually kills 

 it; if two branches are so badly placed that they fray against 

 one another, she eventually severs them at the point of con- 

 tact; if they get densely crowded, she destroys some and so 

 thins them out. The work is done, but very slowly and very 

 wastefully. There is, so to speak, a perpetual struggle be- 

 tween the different parts of a tree for the food materials pro- 

 vided by the roots, and also for light and air, and even those 

 parts that come off winners are starved, to some extent, by 

 having to share with the losers who can give nothing in return , 

 for their fate is sealed. It is the gardener's duty to assist 

 Nature by anticipating her in this work — to do it more quickly, 

 more economically, and more thoroughly. He should, there- 

 fore, aim at producing and maintaining what are called " well- 

 balanced " trees — that is, trees with the branches arranged 

 symmetrically around them, so that each may have as much 

 space as possible — and should cut away all wood that is either 

 useless itself, or likely to interfere with the usefulness of 

 other wood better adapted for fruit-bearing. 



THE liEST FORM OF BUSH. 



Let us consider the Bush Apple or Pear first. The best 

 form is not unlike a well-pruned Red Cnrrnnl, but, of course, 

 larger. It consisls of six or seven strong, upright, or nearly 

 upright, l]ranche8, wi'll apart from one another. In winter 

 it has no side-shoots. They are cut back in .'uly, as previ- 

 ously described, to about live Inula, and. after the leaves fall, 

 are furl her shcirtrned to two, in order to convert iheni into 

 frnit-spnrs. If there are more side-.shoots than are required 

 for the purpose, or if any are uiiauitaiihv they are pruned 

 off completely. It will be seen that this form of tree is really 



