310 



THE PRACTICAL GARDENER. 



[Jan, 



thin out and regulate all their spurs. Wherever large ruggetl 

 projecting spurs occur, cut them clean out, close into the branch; 

 and at the same time, be careful to preserve a sufficient number 

 of the healthy fruit-spurs emitted from the branches. Cut out 

 all decaying, cankery, and dead wood, or barren stumps, which 

 will not only give the trees a neater appearance, but will also 

 much improve their health, by allowing a free circulation of 

 air and sunshine to every part of the tree, and by displacing 

 all useless ill-placed spurs, disencumber the tree of a great 

 load of entirely useless leaves and small spray, which it would 

 otherwise have to support, and which, to a serious degree, 

 would rob the fruit of a great share of its nourishment. Apples 

 often show fruit-buds at the bottom of the breast-shoots short- 

 ened in summer, in which case, if the tree be thin of fruit- 

 spurs, they are to be retained, the better to ensure a crop. 

 Some sorts of pears show buds of this description, particularly 

 in good seasons ; under similar circumstances, they ought to 

 be allowed to remain ; but if there be plenty of fruit- spurs 

 without them, they should be cut out, to prevent an unneces- 

 sary quantity of useless breast-wood being produced the en- 

 suing summer. Trees that have not filled their respective 

 places, and are consequently under a mode of training for 

 forming their several ramifications, must, where the wall re- 

 quires to be covered, have their nearest or last-formed branches 

 shortened, in order to cause them to push out others to fill the 

 wall. This shortening must be in proportion to the strength 

 of the shoots ; strong ones may be shortened one-third of 

 their length, weak ones one-half, or two-thirds, and very weak 

 ones may be shortened into two or three buds. This will 

 cause them to break strongly, and to produce proper shoots 

 with which to form the tree. 



In training horizontally, the side branches, unless in cases 

 of accident arising from bruises or other causes, should never 

 be shortened until the tree has filled the space allotted to it. 

 The upright, or leading shoot which forms the trunk, or main 

 stem of the tree, should at this time, or in March, be short- 

 ened, in order to cause it to push out lateral branches. This 

 shoot must be shortened also, according to its strength ; if it 

 be weak, it will only be able to push out two lateral branches, 



