44 FRUIT TREES IN POTS [ch. 



produce all, or nearly all, single buds. This is a 

 matter of vast importance, inasmuch as the triple 

 eyes contain both blossom and leaf buds, for in 

 the majority of cases the centre bud is a leaf bud, 

 and tlie other two buds, one on each side of the 

 centre bud, are blossom buds. Now, these natur- 

 ally form the best growers, and, if pruned with a 

 little discretion, produce plenty of fruit spurs, and 

 so give a good crop of fruit. With regard to the 

 ^'arieties which form single buds only, it will be 

 found that nine-tenths of these will be fruit buds, 

 or, in other words, blossom buds, and no leaf buds 

 will be formed except at the ends of the shoots. 

 These varieties should always be grown in the 

 form of bushes, or half-standards, as they never 

 develop into an ornamental pyramid, whereas the 

 varieties which form triple buds, with very few 

 exceptions, are well adapted for pyramidal growth. 

 The pruning of all fruit trees, especially stone 

 fruits, should always be done with a good sharp 

 knife, not with scissors, for the cleaner the wound 

 the quicker the healing. It is very detrimental to 

 the growth of trees when pruning is done in a reck- 

 less manner. Trees are too frequently cut in a 

 jagged and cruel manner. In some instances spurs 

 are left almost to the extent of an inch above the 

 eye, and the result has been that the wood has died 

 down to the eye, and in some cases below it. If 



