APPLE TREE. 



129 



natural fruit buds which did not push to 

 shoots, all such must be left entire, as e; 

 they are from half an inch to an inch in 

 length, strong and robust, the end of the 

 buds are of a reddish colour, and is very dis- 

 tinguishable from growing buds, which are 

 considerably less and all of a dark colour. 



Summer Pruning.— -This summer, the fruit- 

 ful buds will be productive, when the fruit 

 has swelled a little, a shoot will generally 

 proceed from the stem of the spur (which it 

 may now be so called) just underneath the 

 fruit; such may be allow r ed to grow eight 

 or ten -inches long, and must then be short- 

 ened back to tw r o inches, or so low as to 

 leave three eyes upon it, as Fig. 3. a. By 

 the shortening of this, strength is thrown into 

 the fruit, and during summer, two or more 

 fruit buds will generally be produced at the 

 bottom of the shoot thus cut down, as b, b, 

 or otherwise from the lower part of the spur, 

 as c. It sometimes occurs that when the 

 tree is very vigorous, some of the buds b, b, 

 will push into shoots, or occasionally into 

 bloom, during the latter end of summer. If 

 shoots are produced, they must be allowed 

 to grow ten inches long, and then be cat 

 back to two inches. When bloom is pro- 

 duced, it must be immediately cut off close 

 under the blossom. 



The shoot w^hich proceeds from the bud, 

 c, Fig. 2. must be allowed to grow to twelve 



s 



