OLD FRUIT TREES. 



317 



winter pruning. In addition to new spurs 

 being produced from the old ones cut down, 

 a great many shoots or fruit buds will fre- 

 quently arise along the main branches where 

 spurs were not situated before. All such 

 must be treated as directed for young trees. 



In making choice of spurs to be nailed to 

 the wall, choose the cleanest and most healthy 

 and such as are at the sides of the branches 

 which they are produced from, so that they 

 can be trained to the wall without having 

 to force them much from their natural di- 

 rection. 



If a strong leading shoot pushes from any 

 of those branch spurs trained in, let such a 

 shoot be nailed to the wall, and at the fol- 

 lowing winter pruning cut it back up to the 

 next spur trained in at the same side of the 

 branch, at which length it must afterwards 

 be kept. 



When there is a proper supply of good 

 bearing spurs obtained upon the main 

 branches, so that a sufficient crop of fruit 

 may be expected without retaining all those 

 spurs trained in, let a portion of them be 

 pruned away to the lowest bud upon each, 

 only retaining such a supply as is directed 

 to be trained in upon each respective kind 

 of fruit tree, 



At the time when the spurs are pruned 

 in as directed, the tree will require to be 

 cleaned. This is always essentially neces- 



