THE SUMMER PRUNING OF FRUIT TREES. 



497 



considered undesirable. He had found that by carrying out this operation 

 in the first week in June there was an unmistakable development of fruit 

 buds at the base of the shoot operated upon towards the end of July. 



Mr. Chas. Foster, of Reading, considered that the balance between 

 the root and branch system could be better kept up by lifting the tree at 

 frequent intervals than by doing so much pruning. Each variety should 

 be treated upon its merits, but he thought that severe summer pruning 

 was not to be advocated. 



Mr. W. H. Divers sent a branch of an apple tree, of the variety 

 Bismarck,' heavily laden with somewhat small fruits, showing the result 

 of omitting both summer and winter pruning in 1906. The tree was 

 bearing a heavy crop on the top, so that it was really breaking down with 

 the weight. Several of the speakers referred to the branch in the course 

 of their remarks, and regarded it as a good illustration of an undesirable 

 state of things, since many small fruits had been secured, instead of a 

 few of much better quality, and these in a part of the tree that was not 

 easily dealt with, and where they were greatly exposed to the wind. 



At a subsequent meeting of the Committee the following report upon 

 a series of experiments on the summer pruning of fruit trees was read. 

 The experiments were carried out by Mr. C. Wakely, F.R.H.S., at the 

 Essex County School of Horticulture, Chelmsford. Mr. Wakely wrote : 



" The general results of the summer-pruning experiments agree well 

 with my conclusions of past years, but there is evidently much to be 

 learnt as to the behaviour of different varieties, and therefore as to the 

 time of pruning. Stocks, too, are of great importance in this connection. 



" Many men have an idea that the basal buds of the pruned shoot are 

 developed into blossom buds, but my observations are entirely contrary 

 to this notion, and go to show that only those buds nearest to the cut 

 are influenced to any extent, and these are the buds that develop into 

 blossom buds, if any change occurs. 



" The apple has a greater tendency to secondary growth than the 

 plum. Hence it is absolutely useless to give any general directions for 

 summer pruning. There is great need of experimental work with' an 

 evenly started set of trees, so that the results obtained may be more 

 accurately compared ; but the following table calls attention to a few of 

 the important factors in the case. 



" It may be noted that gooseberry and red currant bushes pruned on 

 June 4 both refrained from making secondary growth, but they seem 

 to have plumped up their lower buds a good deal. Close pruning is 

 the plan to be adopted with these. 



" The soil in which the trees experimented with are growing is a 

 somewhat heavy loam overlying boulder clay, and the rainfall during the 

 year was distributed as follows : January, 1*29 in. ; February, 0*93 in. ; 

 March, 0-91 in. ; April, 2-34 ins. ; May, 2*02 ins. ; June, 1*98 in. ; 

 July, 1*96 in. ; August, 1*48 in. ; September, 0*60 in. ; October, 2*85 ins. ; 

 November, 2*47 ins. — giving a total during the first six months of the 

 year of 9*47 ins., and during the period July to November 9*36 ins." 



The tables on the next two pages show the results of summer pruning 

 in Pears, Apples, and Plums. 



