72 SUMMER PRUNING. 
of treatment. Various methods are pursued to pro- 
duce fruitfulness, all of them depending upon the 
fact that this condition arises from the natural habit 
of the tree, to make its wood growth very freely for 
a, series of years, and then while the growth by 
extension is curtailed, to take on that wonderful 
change, by which the wood buds are transformed 
into those that expand into flowers and produce fruit. 
The study of these changes is called Morphology, 
and when the tree has reached this condition it is 
said to have arrived at its maturity.” 
To bring about this change, summer pruning 
should be resorted to, if the tree is inclined to make 
a strong growth of young wood. It should be done 
during the growing season, yet late enough that a 
second growth may not start. I have found from 
the 1st to the 20th of July the best time to perform 
this work at Newark, N. J. It is simply removing 
a portion of the present year’s growth, cutting or 
pinching off from one-third to one-half of the young 
shoots. 
By changing the course of the flow of sap from 
the extreme ends of the branches, the leaf buds are 
enlarged and changed into fruit spurs. When too 
many young shoots have started, they may be re- 
moved without injury to the tree, in fact, it will be 
an advantage, if they are taken out in July instead 
