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JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



as a matter of course need no root-pruning ; but it does not follow 

 that the practice, if applied to other trees, is wrong. I think rather 

 that it is a count against those who say that root- pruning is 

 unnatural, for what is the sample of fruit from such trees ? 

 Possibly there may be a solitary tidy-looking fruit out of every 

 score, but the remainder only fit for the hucksters' barrows. 

 Garden trees proper that are grafted on the natural stock can 

 only be kept in a fruitful condition by occasional curtailment of 

 root-growth. Repression of wood-growth by summer pinching 

 does something towards rendering the operation of root-pruning 

 less frequent. There are a few large bush trees, grafted on the 

 Pear stock, in the gardens under my charge, growing on borders 

 that are regularly cropped with salads and shallow-rooting vege- 

 tables, and these trees invariably fruit well, without any curtail- 

 ment of roots other than such as is unavoidable in preparing the 

 ground for the vegetable crop. I do not, however, commend the 

 practice of planting trees in such positions. I think that each 

 tree is worthy of having its due space of the ground, and only 

 when it has that share have we a right to expect full returns in 

 the shape of fruit. I said that the trees invariably fruit well ; 

 that does not mean that the fruit is always fine ; it is generally 

 passable, and as fine as we have a right to expect from trees that 

 are annually denuded of their best surface rootlets, the loss of 

 which furnishes the clue to regular fruitfulness. With the 

 wholesale removal of branches in winter, a process that is mis- 

 called pruning, I have not an iota of sympathy, unless it be pity 

 for the ignorance of the performers, that they have not thought 

 as to what the after results are — canker and gumming, to wit ; 

 and the nearest approach I would care to advise in that direction 

 is the removal of a few long spurs, with the intent of inducing the 

 pushing of new buds " closer home " as we call it, that trees 

 on walls may, when in flower, have the full benefit that wall- 

 copings afford in the direction of protection from spring frosts ; 

 and in a lesser degree the same idea holds good in respect of 

 keeping the spurs on bush and pyramidal-shaped trees close 

 home, and under the protection of the main branches. I thought 

 that I could best explain my meaning as to the removal of these 

 spurs by a portion of the branch of a tree pruned for the purpose, 

 as also I can of what I mean by summer priming, or, as I prefer 

 to call it, repression of growth, in order to induce fruit- 



