PRUNING AND TRAINING THE APPLE. 



537 



great measure also with that of all other fruit trees that bear on spurs, we 

 shall enter into it here at some length, as this will save repetition in treating 

 of the pear, cherry, plum, apricot, mulberry, and even the gooseberry and 

 currant. We shall commence with an apple tree one year grafted, just 

 taken from a nursery and planted at the base of a wall or espaher rail. We 

 shall give the winter and summer pruning for ten years, commencing 

 every year with the beginning of the winter pruning, which should 

 always be performed as early in the winter as possible. We have supposed 

 the tree to be trained in the horizontal manner, but the mode of treating 

 the spurs is equally applicable to every other kind of training, and to 

 standard trees or bushes as well as to those against walls or espaliers. We 

 quote this article verbatim from the Gardener s Magazine^ Vol. III. 



1150. Spur ring-in pruning. First year. Winter pruning. — The tree is 

 headed down before it begins to push ; in doing which, the foot is placed 

 upon the soil, and close to the bole, in order to prevent it from being drawn 

 up by the force which is used in the operation. The cut is made in a 

 sloping direction towards the wall, and about half an inch above the bud 

 which is selected for the leading shoot. The tree is cut down so that seven 

 buds remain. 



Summer pruning. If all the buds push (which will generally be the 

 case)_, they are all permitted to grow until they have attained three inches 

 in length, when two of them are rubbed off ; those nibbed off are the third 

 and fourth buds, counting upwards from the origin of the tree, The upper- 

 most shoot is trained straight up the wall for a leading stem, and the 

 remaining four horizontall}^ along the wall, two on each side the stem of the 

 tree. These shoots are trained nine inches apart, for when they are much 

 nearer than this they exclude the sun and air from operating upon the buds 

 and wood, in such a manner as is required to keep the tree productive. 

 When the leading upright shoot has attained about fifteen inches in length, 

 the end is pinched off so as to leave it about eleven inches long. This 

 causes shoots to be produced from the upper part of the leader thus stopped, 

 three of which are trained in, the uppermost straight up the wall, and the 

 others one on each side the stem of the leader. This stopping of the leading 

 shoot is not performed later than the end of June or earl}^ in July; for, 

 when it is done much later, those shoots which push afterwards in that 

 season do not arrive at a sufficient degree of maturity to withstand the 

 winter, and are frequently destroyed by frost. When it happens that a tree 

 has not done well in the early part of the season, and the upright shoot is 

 not of a suitable length or vigour at the proper period for stopping it, it 

 is not meddled with afterwards until the winter pruning of the tree, "\^^hen 

 the tree grows either too weak or too vigorous, lower the branches or raise 

 them as may be requu-ed. See 791, rule 2. 



Second year. — Winter pruning. At the middle or end of November the 

 tree is pruned. The upright leading shoot is now shortened down to ten 

 inches from the place where it was last stopped. The tree will now be 

 represented by the accompanying sketch (fig. 860). The side shoots (but 

 which will hereafter be termed branches), are not shortened, but left 

 their full length. If, during summer, the end of a branch should have been 

 accidentally broken or damaged, the general consequence resulting from 

 it is the production of several shoots or fruit buds. If shoots (which is very 



