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into another spur exactly as on the extended branch 

 considered above. 



We may now briefly refer to the case of the shoot 

 should the tree be moved. This means in effect that 

 the roots will be damaged, that new roots will have 

 to be made from the foodstuffs stored in the stem and 

 coarse roots. But this is a slow process, and until 

 the old root system is entirely replaced it means that 

 the branches will have to go short of their usual 

 supply of sap. The effect upon them will be marked. 

 No strong growth will be made, and even if cut back 

 to the dormant bud a weak shoot only will result. 

 If the branch is unpruned the shoots will put forth 

 their flowers, but lacking sufficient sap, fruit will 

 probably not set, and if it does there will be a lack 

 of nourishment and consequently small, undersized 

 fruit. The leaves will be small for the same reason, 

 and the result will be that the supply of food material 

 that is made — not being used up in the production of 

 growth, will all be used in making fruit buds. 



Thus we see how it is that root-pruning will throw 

 a tree into fruit by allowing the elaborated (organic) 

 sap to predominate over the crude (inorganic). This 

 puts the whole question of fruitfulness into a nutshell. 

 Predominance of root sap means growth; predominance 

 of leaf sap, fruit. 



This is illustrated in another way. It is often said 

 that canker causes a tree to fruit. It is not, of course, 

 the disease that causes this, but merely that the 

 elaborated sap on its way to stems and roots is 

 stopped by the damaged bark and held up in the 

 branch. The buds therefore get an abnormal supply 

 of food material which aids their development into 



