cuLirEE OF lEriT TEEEs.— p^.^^"'I^'G. 



27 



sap begins to rise in spring ; but it bad better be done 

 in good time. The trained trees which require new 

 wood every year, — such as peaches, nectarines, apricots, 

 and vines, must be taken down from the wall for the 

 main pruning. 



The mode of bearing of different sorts of trees must 

 be considered before cutting them. 



Apples, pears, plums, and cherries bear on spurs, or 

 short, robust side-shoots from half an inch to one or 

 two inches long, growiug from wood of from two to 

 twenty years old. The same branches bear year after 

 year, so that when these trees are trained to a good 

 head, no more wood is wanted than any that may occa- 

 sionally be required to train up to supply the place of 

 unproductive or dead branches. Constant nipping back 

 is tlierefore the most important pruning they require. 



In summer, to throw the strength into the bearing 

 spurs, all the shoots should be cut back, except leading 

 shoots, which are necessary to draw up the sap : and in 

 winter, all the branches should be so radically thinned 

 out where necessary as to let in plenty of air and light 

 to the heart of the tree, the leaciing shoots left in 

 summer being shortened first. 



Peaches, nectarines, and apricots produce their fruit 

 on one-year old wood ; thus that which grows this year 

 produces next. In pruning these trees, therefore, the 

 object to be kept in view is to leave a good supply of 

 the finest young wood on fairly-grown shoots at regular 

 distances, at every side, from the bottom of the tree to 

 its extremities. In their summer pruning, rub off the 

 leaf-buds which would produce crowded or cross-growing 

 branches, and leave the rest. In winter, shorten the 

 old wood, less or more, according to its strength, to 

 make it throw out young wood in proper positions the 

 following year, and train in the summer-grown shoots. 



Yines bear on wood of the same year, shooting from 

 eyes on one-year old wood. Train in a sufficiency of 

 shoots of the current year for producing the next year, 

 and in winter shorten them to a few eyes each, to s'hoot 

 and bear the following season. 



