208 



PEINCirLES AND TRACTICE OF PRUNING 



nal f;:i-owth ma_v he cut liack to the point where it is de- 

 sired to force out new laterals for another year's growth. 

 The cutting- at this time seems to cause a thickening of 

 the branches, probably an accumulation of tissues around 

 the buds. 



With some varieties, probably, it will lead to direct 

 fruiting the following season ; with others, however, it 

 will simply tend to keep the trees in balance, and prob- 

 ably encourage earlier fruiting than would otherwise be 



true. That is, re- 

 sults may come in 

 two or three years 

 rather than in one 

 year. If this prun- 

 ing is done at 

 about the right 

 time, very little 

 secondary growth 

 will take place, 

 and what does will 

 naturally be very 

 small. Of course 

 in many cases 

 these trees, four 

 to se\'en years of 

 age, do not hard- 

 en-up until late in 

 September or even in October, and then it would be too 

 late to do any pruning to advantage. Even though sum- 

 mer [jruning with these trees might not lead to an increase 

 in fruiting the following summer, it would be a distinct 

 hel]) in keeping the trees in balance, and in eliminating 

 the excessive cutting which might otherwise be necessary 

 the following spring. 



168. Trees eight to twelve years old, which should be 

 in fruiting but have ne\'cr borne, have almost always 

 been over-stimulated — over-pruned, over-tilled, over-irri- 



FIG. 172 



VIGOROUS GROWTHS FOLLOW THINNING 



Bartlett pear spurs were thinned out of old tree. 



Vigorous shoots resulted. At i are terminal fruit 



buds; at a a.\illary fruit buds on last season's (one 



year) shoots. 



