PEACH AND NECTARINE TREES. 241 



double blooming buds upon them, with a 

 growing bud at the end, as c, but no inter- 

 mediate growing ones. In this case if wood 

 be not wanted at that part, the shoot must be 

 left its entire length; but if wood be required 

 in order properly to furnish the tree, let such 

 a shoot be cut down so as to leave about half 

 an inch of it remaining, as d; there are gene- 

 rally a few embryos of buds around the base 

 of the part left, from which a new shoot 

 will afterwards push. When a tree happens 

 to have a great number of shoots so supplied 

 with blooming buds, one-half, one-third, or 

 one-quarter of them must be cut down as 

 directed, according to the quantity which the 

 tree has, or the portion of new wood requir- 

 ed. The necessity of cutting to a growing bud 

 is, that at the ensuing spring a shoot may push 

 at the top of that one shortened atwinterprun- 

 ing, so that whatever fruit there may be below 

 it the following summer, it may have its re- 

 quired support from the tree, otherwise it 

 would drop off or be defective in size and fla- 

 vour. If a fruit of particular importance hap- 

 pen to be so circumstanced, a bud may be in- 

 serted above the fruit, by which nourishment 

 will be derived to it, and it will be matured. 



With the view of having a leading shoot 

 to every branch of last year's wood, some 

 persons do not prune their trees until late in 

 spring when they can more certainly dis 

 cover which bud will push and which will 



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