52 



SEASON FOR PRUNING. 



tirely destitute of fruit bearing wood, for 

 three or four feet from the bole of the tree. 

 This state of the trees will frequently be 

 found to arise, from adopting a system re- 

 commended and practised by some persons, 

 viz. of leaving all the shoots entirely un- 

 shortened in winter. 



I have seen and tried this method in many 

 instances and for many years, and I have 

 always found it the same, and in the appli- 

 cation of all other means I could use to 

 co-operate with such a system, in order to 

 render it successful, I uniformly failed, and 

 could not keep a tree (after it had been so 

 treated for twelve or fourteen years) pro- 

 perly supplied with bearing wood down to 

 the bole. Such a tree I always found co- 

 vered its space and exhausted the border 

 much sooner, than if treated otherwise, it 

 had also supported a greater quantity of lux- 

 uriant unproductive wood, as well as borne 

 a much less quantity of fruit; the wood was 

 at the same time long and naked, because 

 the point bud generally pushed the first. 

 And by the shoot of last year wood being: left 

 its whole length, it frequently happens that 

 at the lower part of the shoot there are no 

 new ones produced, by reason of the point 

 shoot pushing first, and the sap finding means 

 of expending itself there, or ima few more 

 shoots near to the upper part of the last year 

 wood, and thus naked branches are encou- 



