386 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



for the tree to restore its own balance? From my own experience 

 it is much better for the tree to do so. The part we want restored is the 

 roots ; and the tree will do this more effectively if all the shoots are left 

 unpruned the first season so as to give a greater amount of leaf surface 

 early in the season. The roots formed under those conditions are fibrous, 

 which is just the sort desired. I have found that trees which were left 

 unpruned the first season had many more fibrous roots than those which 

 were pruned the first season, when both were lifted and replanted two 

 years after. 



I think we can safely say the balance will be restored the first season ; 

 then, if the shoots are all cut back to good wood buds, which will probably 

 be within four or five inches of the base, good strong growths will be pro- 

 duced, which will lay the foundation for the future branches of the 

 tree, and far superior to those on trees pruned the first year of planting. 



For the last ten years I have seen a great number of fruit trees planted 

 in the Evesham district, and I should think quite nine-tenths of them 

 have not been pruned until a year after planting. I have asked some of 

 the growers to prune a few the first season for comparison, but in no 

 case have the trees done so well as those not pruned until a year after 

 planting. These men judge by results ; and when they have once proved 

 a system to be best, no amount of literature will turn them. 



I have been looking at some apple trees this week which were planted 

 two years ago ; some of them were planted in November, and the others 

 in February, and all were pruned back in March of the same season. 

 Those planted in November produced shoots from four to six inches 

 long in the first season ; at the most, only two shoots came out from 

 each shoot cut back, but they have made fairly good growths this year. 

 Those planted in February, and pruned in March following, made 

 scarcely any growth, and not one has made six inches of growth this 

 season ; they are only about a third of the size of those planted in the 

 November previous. There are other trees of the same variety which were 

 planted at the same times, and in the same field, but were left unpruned 

 for a year ; and the growths of these trees this year are far superior to 

 the best of those pruned the first year after planting, and there is no 

 doubt about them making the best trees ; the owner says no one will 

 ever persuade him to prune again until the trees have been planted 

 a year. 



If small bush or pyramid trees* are planted in private gardens, and are 

 not wanted to make large trees, it would be better to prune them in the 

 March following, because the less such trees grow, the more they are 

 appreciated. 



Where large pyramids, bushes, or standards are wanted, then by 

 all means leave the pruning until the trees have been planted one 

 year. For standards, this system is most important. As a rule, three- 

 fourths of the original young shoot has to be cut away, so as to be 

 sure of getting below all fruit buds. The usual advice is to cut to an 

 outer wood bud, which of course is the right thing to do, if you have 

 enough shoots already on the tree ; but do not think this should be a 

 fixed rule, because it often happens that two leading shoots are required 

 where there is only one now ; in such cases I advise the two top buds 



