SUMMER PRUNING AND TRAINING OF FRUIT-TREES. 



119 



Pears on Walls. — These are trained chiefly as fan-shaped, 

 horizontal, and cordon trees, though there are several other 

 forms, but the pruning of each will be very similar, or more 

 or less so according to the different stocks the trees may be 

 grafted on, as the Pear when on the Pear stock produces a far 

 stronger tree, and pushes out more breastwood from the spurs, 

 than when grafted or budded on the Quince. It is with Pears, 

 I think, that the greatest errors of summer pruning have been 

 practised, and it is the particular point which most needs 

 clearing up. In their anxiety for extreme neatness, gardeners 

 in days gone by commenced pinching the shoots as early in 

 the season as possible, and the practice was repeated at intervals 

 throughout the whole season, and the result was that fruit- 

 buds were formed very sparingly. No amount of summer 

 pruning or pinching will cause the formation of fruit -buds on 

 the current year's growth. 



It is quite evident that summer pruning must be practised, 

 or the fruit-spurs against the wall would be deprived of light, 

 and this is what is needed to ripen up the buds. It will also 

 be understood that any Pear-trees which are growing strongly 

 against walls, as old trees on the Pear stock are somewhat prone 

 to do, will not be able to be brought into a fruitful condition 

 through summer pruning alone. It is root-pruning which such 

 trees require to bring them into a fruitful condition ; and in 

 passing I may say that I have seen some very successful experi- 

 ments attending the root-pruning of old unfruitful trees. 



During the formation of the young trees, and whilst they 

 are extending, it is one of the greatest possible mistakes to 

 pinch or shorten the leaders of the main branches before they 

 have filled their allotted space, be they on the Pear stock or on 

 the Quince. Just shortening the leading shoot has a tendency 

 to form a bunch of shoots at the end, and leaves a vacant space 

 of perhaps 18 inches without one lateral shoot or fruit-bud 

 forming. Shortening back also has a tendency — even when done 

 sufficiently closely to force all the latent buds at the base into 

 starting — of giving the tree a gross habit, so that it does not 

 come into a fruitful condition so early as it otherwise would ; 

 whereas by leaving the leader intact the buds will push out 

 evenly, and, instead of growing into strong shoots, they will 

 form natural spurs, and the tree will commence bearing much 

 earlier. 



