58 



SPURRING, 



nagement of fruit trees, to look forward to 

 what is to take place hereafter; not only to 

 consider the present welfare of them, but 

 what may be necessary in years to come. 

 It will be noticed in the particular treatment 

 of this class of fruit trees, that I cut away 

 partially and afterwards wholly the spurs 

 at a very early period after they are produ- 

 ced, my reason for doing so I shall here 

 explain. Around the base of each spur, 

 there are generally several embryos situated 

 under the bark, and when the old spur is 

 allowed to grow without being shortened, or 

 entirely cut down, such embryos generally 

 remain in that condition ; but if the spur be 

 cut down it will almost certainly cause one 

 or more of these to push forth, and in some 

 instances this will be the case even by par- 

 tially shortening an old spur. The advantage 

 therefore of cutting away the spur at an 

 early age is, that such embryos will more 

 certainly push, than if the pruning be de- 

 ferred to a much later period; for the younger 

 the wood is of the spur cut away, the 

 more certain is the new spur to be pro- 

 duced. For when the bark gets old it is 

 tougher, and the embryo cannot force its 

 way through it so readily as it can when it 

 is younger. Besides it will frequently be 

 found when the spurs have been allowed to 

 grow for many years and have not been cut 

 away, that some of the embryos will have 



