212 THE PEACH AND NECTAKINB. 



crap of fmit. There are also other advantages in late pruning. The 

 winter will generally have revealed all the imperfections or weaknesses 

 of the wood, and, of course, all faulty branches, being thus revealed, 

 would be at once removed. The wounds also seem to heal more kindly 

 and rapidly in the spring, and the bleeding is very slight or ml, and 

 seems to do no harm. 



Scarcely, however, has the winter pruning been finished when the first 

 step in summer pruning is to be taken. Thus the pruning season of 

 these superior fruits may be said to extend from February to September. 

 This first step in pruning is called disbudding, and a most important 

 one it is. On most shoots of the current year there will be found 

 about three or more times as many wood buds as are wanted to 

 grow into shoots. Some cultivators recommend these, and also a 



Fig. 47. Pio. 48. 



large proportion of the flower buds, to be removed at a, very 

 early stage, that is, before they are fully developed. The majority 

 of growers, however, prefer a, more prudent course. They Jeave 

 aU the fruit buds to open, to see how many wiU set, and hardly dare 

 touch the young fruit tiU the end of May or middle of June, for 

 fear that the usual cold snap (about the 20th) makes an end of the 

 embryo fruits j all the wood buds are also left for a time. Three good 

 reasons may be assigned for thus deferring disbudding. The wood shoots 

 posted near to the fruit buds afford them some slight protection ; the 

 development of all the buda stimulates the action of the roots, often 

 very slow and sluggish, in their important work of collecting and 

 •conveying food in the early spring ; and the starting of all the buds 

 gives the cultivator the power of selecting not only the best placed but 

 strongest and most perfectly developed buds. Fig. 47 shows a peach 

 shoot with all its buda intact ; Fig. 48 the same shoot after disbudding. 

 To render the proceas more clear, the number of buds in this example 

 is small, and no fruit buds or embryo fruit are shown. In this case. 



