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promoting fruitfulnoss, and its further effect is to improve the size, 
quahty, and appearance of tlie fruit. Fruit trees of all kinds should be 
subjected while young to annual or biennial ro()t-i)runing, say up to the 
eighth year, (irowth will be in no wise retai dod, and the after treatment 
of the roots will be simplified to a very great degree. Shrubs also a.ro 
greatly benefited by root-pruning when young, and there is no better 
method of transporting a large shrub or young ti ee than first to prepare 
it twelve months previous to removal by cutting back the roots. 
How shall I prune is the next question that asks for an answer. 
Heading down young trees as a means (1) of imparting vigour to 
weaklings and ("Z) of laying a foundation for the future, has already been 
referred to. AVith regard to the first, it is imperative that in worked 
trees the cut be made just above the junction with the stock, or if seed- 
lings are the subjects of manipulation, close to their base; and if they are 
in vigorous condition, and it is wished to form them into dwarf or trained 
trees, they may be cut 12 to 18 inches from the ground. Of the growths 
resulting from this pruning, the strongest shoots, to the number of three 
or four, should alone be allowed to grow, any w^eakly ones being rubbed 
off or cut close to the stem at an early stage. After-pruning consists 
in shortening these shoots to the buds which it is intended should pro- 
duce other shoots to form the frame-work of the tree. Provided the trees 
are examined as soon as growth has well started, and the " snags," or 
" cockspurs," as they are called, removed, it is a matter of no great 
importance whether the cut is made slanting to or from the bud, or 
straight across. The cut will be covered with new bark the same year, 
and in passing I may say that the removal of these unsightly points, 
whether on plants, shrubs, or trees, is a little item in gardening that it is 
always advantageous to effect. 
Single cordons, when suitable varieties, short in growth, and prolific 
of fruit-buds are employed, do not, in my experience, require to be headed 
down, and the main stem need not be shortened until the limit of ex- 
tension has been reached. Side growths will, of course, require to be 
regulated, pinched, and in winter, pruned if necessary. 
The manner of pruning fruit-trees after they have attained a size to 
bear a fair crop must always remain a matter for individual determina- 
tion. Some there are whose idea of the proper method to pursue is that 
of spur- pruning " pure and simple. Others favour a slight modifica- 
tion of this, permitting a growth somewhat more free, while yet others 
delight in a growth quite unrestricted, save by a due thinning of the 
shoots where they are too closely disposed. With the exception of the 
Peach and the Fig, any of these methods of pruning may be pursued 
with success. The really important point is to carry none of them to an 
unreasonable extent. Without going into details, it may be said that 
this occurs when the health of the tree is interfered with or its fruitful- 
ness lessened or destroyed. But as long as an annual supply of good 
fruit is obtained, the pruning cannot be far amiss. Whichever system is 
favoured, in order to reap the benefit last named it is imperative that 
an abundance of light is secured to the leafage. Hence it is incumbent 
that shoots and branches should be thinly disposed and spurs and buds 
constantly regulated to a sufficient distance apart. In the case of 
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