PRUNING FRUIT TREES. 
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must be for a few years to secure good growth and form fine 
open heads which will carry fruit for generations ; and those who 
seek, as many do, to obtain fruit at once make a fatal error. 
If young standard trees are left unpruned, they will make 
scarcely any growth the following season, but the buds will just 
push out a few leaves, and, remaining nearly dormant, will the 
following year be transformed into bloom-buds, and if these 
produce fruit the long branches will be broken down and the tree 
ruined for life ; if, on the other hand, one wishes to prune them 
back the first year after planting, a whole season has been lost, 
and it is often very difficult to find buds to prune to, as the buds 
on the lower portion of these long branches will have failed to 
develop, and are what we technically call " blind." 
Pyramid Trees should be treated much in the same way as 
standards. Young vigorous trees should be closely pruned ; older 
trees, being more formed, do not require such severe pruning, as 
the foundation of the tree is already laid, and what one wants is 
rather to continue the work already begun than to cut hard back, 
and so form strong shoots. Older transplanted trees merely 
require the longest shoots shortening, in order to maintain the 
balance of the tree and to prevent, as a consequence of their 
being left too long, their lower portions having undeveloped 
buds, I may also say that it is frequently advisable to thin out 
entirely a few of the branches upon formed or specimen trees, 
where they are placed too closely together, as this is an opera- 
tion which seldom receives attention at the hands of the 
nurseryman. 
Of course these remarks about pyramid trees are based upon 
the supposition that they have been carefully pruned during 
their youth in the nursery. When one reads in the horticultural 
press of pyramid trees being purchased and planted which had 
stems 3 feet and over in length devoid of a branch, these 
remarks are not applicable. Such trees can only be treated by 
being cut hard back to 15 or 18 inches from the surface 
of the ground, and allowing them to start again, if one is 
possessed of sufficient patience to await the result, the alterna- 
tive being to dig them, up and burn them. 
Cordon Trees. — These should have the leading branch left as 
iong as possible, the only object of shortening it at all, if well 
