THEORY OF LONG PRUNING. 



77 



possible to say. Other later writers of eminence 

 recommend the shoots to be shortened to fourteen 

 inches if strong, and weak shoots to about six. At 

 Montreuil about twelve inches in general is the 

 rule as to length of shoot. 



The unnatural and needless system of disbudding 

 seems to have many advocates in the authors before 

 us. Indeed, with one author, it constitutes the 

 chief part of his recommendations. To lay in a 

 shoot (the length not stated), but evidently at its 

 fullest extent, and to disbud it in three times — 

 (there is great stress laid upon this number) — to 

 leave only the terminal bud, and one at the base 

 — (for a replacing shoot) — and to allow one or 

 more Peaches to grow on the naked shoot between 

 them, is really the whole that is stated. Another 

 writer considers disbudding a " most important 

 consideration." It will, however, be seen that 

 later practice prefers the judicious summer-stop- 

 ping of the shoot, whereby the same result is 

 obtainable by more simple and natural means. 



The result of such a style of long pruning almost 

 always is, that far more wood is grown than is 

 wanted. The tree exhausts itself, especially in 

 our humid climate, in the production of long un- 

 ripened shoots, and the pruner, at the winter 

 season, sees before him three times as much wood 

 as he requires for fruiting. If he be one of the 



