ROOT PRUNING OF FRUIT-TREES. 



213 



the tree will suffer less, and the returning sap will at once 

 commence to heal the wounds where the roots are cut, and in 

 some cases embryo fibres will form before Christmas. If the 

 border is already rich there will be no necessity to add manure ; 

 but it is important to refresh it with maiden soil, and to see that 

 it is friable and in a damp but not wet condition, to envelop 

 the roots and assist in the formation of new fibres. Where 

 fresh soil is not available, the parings of lawns, with road grit, 

 wood ashes, &c, may be used. 



Espalier trees may be treated in a similar way, except that 



• only one entire side should be acted on at first, the opposite 

 side being left for pruning the next year. 



And here let me state what is so often overlooked or 'dis- 

 regarded, viz. that all fruit-trees delight in a hard and close soil 



I to root in. "Wall trees, therefore, should never have a crop of 

 vegetables within a yard of the wall ; this 3 feet need never be 

 dug, but a slight forking on the surface will enable the mulching 

 to act more freely and allow the rains to reach the roots, and 

 also prevent evaporation. It is when the roving roots reach the 

 heavily manured, frequently dug vegetable quarters that wall 

 trees, to use an expressive term, "go wild," and this stimulating 

 soil prevents the proper ripening of the wood and settling of the 

 sap before winter comes with its penetrating frosts. Many old 

 wall-trees are also too crowded in the spurs and branches, 

 and when root-pruning some of these may be removed with 

 advantage. 



Of all garden trees the pyramidal form is the most neglected. 

 In fact some are merely pruned in with shears, and beauty, or 

 rather correct outline, is more considered than fruit. These 

 neglected pyramids require stringent measures. First remove, 

 with a sharp American lightning saw, all the main branches 

 which are not required to keep the desired form ; then shorten 

 all the side shoots to three or four leaves, leaving the top shoots 

 free ; then attack the roots, carefully preserving every top fibre, 

 and working all round the tree, about 3 feet from the stem, 

 expose the roots, and work under the ball to get at the tap-root 

 or roots ; shorten them and introduce the tile as before, and 

 then fill in the whole with fresh soil, wood ashes, &c, and raise 

 a little the fibres and smaller roots exposed, and spread them 

 out, shortening them as the work proceeds. If the soil of the 



