By the Rev. Willtam Williamson. 149 



to the upper part of the branch. It is from these shoots 

 that fruit is to be expected. These productive shoots will 

 in a few years become very numerous, and many of them 

 must be taken off, particularly the strongest, in order to en- 

 courage the production of the smaller ones ; for those of the 

 former year become so exhausted, that they generally decay : 

 but whether decayed or not, they are always cut out by the 

 pruner, and a fresh supply must therefore be provided, to 

 produce the fruit in the succeeding year. 



The leading shoot is every year to be shortened two-thirds, 

 or more should the tree be weak, and the whole height of 

 the branches must not be suffered to exceed six feet. Every 

 shoot that is left to produce fruit, should also be tipped, 

 which prevents the tree being exhausted in making wood at 

 the end of the branch. 



The Filbert is a monoecious plant, and consequently pro- 

 duces the male and female blossoms separately on the same 

 tree; the slender scarlet filaments which are seen issuing 

 from the end of the buds early in the spring, are the female, 

 or productive blossoms; the barren or male blossoms are 

 formed on long cylindrical catkins, which fall off as soon as 

 they have performed their office; in pruning, care must be 

 taken to leave a due supply of these to fructify the female 

 blossoms, or our previous trouble will be entirely useless ; 

 this may be done without difficulty, for they are perfectly 

 visible at the time of the pruning. 



The method of pruning above detailed might in a few words 

 be called a system of spurring, by which bearing shoots are 

 produced, which otherwise would have had no existence. 

 It frequently happens that a strong shoot springs from the 



