VI.] THAINING AND PRUNING. l6l 



23 1 . Fifth : Every shoot whicli has been topped or dis-budded 

 throws out, from superabundance of sap, a quantity of shoots and 

 fruit-buds. So, if by means of bending you cannot prevent a 

 branch throwing out wood, top it and pinch off the side buds 

 when they are bursting, and it will tend to fruit. 



232. Sixth : The duration and the strength of a tree depend 

 upon an equality existing constantly between its head and its 

 roots, as well as between the different parts of its head. You 

 should never, therefore, cut back a tree to its main limbs or to its 

 trunk, unless there be a corresponding deficiency in the roots 

 either from old age or from accident. This proves the necessity 

 of pruning very short on transplanting. If one part of the 

 branches, by strong growth, take the sap destined for the other 

 part, these decline rapidly, and finish by complete decay, in 

 which they do not fail to involve the whole tree. 



233. Seventh : The more a tree is forced into bearing the 

 more it is exhausted ; but the more it is suffered to put forth wood, 

 the more vigorous it is. This principle proves that we should 

 never suffer a tree to become overloaded with fruit-branches, be- 

 cause we expose ourselves to lose it altogether in a few years, or 

 at least, to see it barren for one, tvvo, or even three, years. But 

 an intelligent gardener will always take care to provide an even 

 quantity of branches both for wood and fruit ; and the result will 

 be that he will have a greater quantity of fruit, and of finer 

 quality, and that he may rest assured of this annually without 

 injuring the tree or shortening its duration. 



234. These principles are applicable to all fruit-trees, but there 

 is another which applies more particularly to the stone-fruits, and, 

 of these, mostly to the peach-tree. 



235. Eighth : The fruit-buds, particularly of stone-fruits, to 

 form and bring to maturity their fruit, should be accompanied by 

 shoot-buds, which draw the sap towards them. Every fruit-branch 

 which has not these dries up and dies without bearing. It often 

 happens that the severity of the winter destroys the shoot-buds 

 which are coming alongside the fruit-buds ; and those who prune 

 before this can be discovered stand the chance of leaving fruit- 

 branches without wood-buds, and, consequently, of seeing these 

 die as soon as they have flowered. Every fruit-branch which 

 has, at its extremity, nothing but a wood-bud should be 

 shortened, unless you wish to preserve it for a wood-branch ; but 



M 



