380 PYRAMIDAL TRAINING OF THE PEAR TREE. 



as this that the French get that perfectly equal distribution 

 of sap which is so essential to the satisfactory management 

 and prolonged fertility of trained fruit trees. The summer 

 following the first pruning^ the young trees push with great 

 vigour^ and their shoots should be thinned when a few 



Fig. 178. 



Pyramidal Pear Tree. 

 First pruning. 



inches long_, removing every 

 shoot from the base of the 

 stem to a height of about one 

 foot_, and thinning out those 

 above this point to six, seven, 

 or eight shoots ; reserving of 

 course the best placed shoots, 

 and taking care to have them 

 arranged as far as possible at 

 regular intervals. Should they 

 in the course of the year assume an irregular develop- 

 ment, pinching with the finger and thumb must be resorted 

 to. This is shown in Fig. 179. The shoots, A A, have 

 pushed too much ; and one of them rivals the leading shoot 

 B ; they therefore must be pinched, merely taking an inch 

 or so off, 



Top of Young Pear Tree. B, the 

 leading shoot. A A, shoots re- 

 quiring to be pinched. 



