THE LORETTE SYSTEM OF PRUNING. 
269 
sion de toute la partie ayant servie d'appel seve premiere quinzaine 
de Septembre, c'est a dire qu'a cette epoque on doit tailler sur le 
bout on bien cons tit ue." The illustration, which is copied from a rough 
sketch submitted to and annotated byM.LoRETTE, will make the matter 
clear. Thus, when the pruning is completed, there only remain fruit - 
buds, basal cluster stumps with or without dards at their bases, and 
some fine twigs. The leading shoots remain untouched till the follow- 
ing April if the tree is incompleted ; but if full size has been attained 
they may now be shortened to 5 or 6 inches to prevent damage by 
wind during the winter, and cut " sur empatement/' that is to about 
I or § inch in the spring. 
If we look at an old standard tree which has not been subjected to 
pruning, we find that its leafage consists almost entirely of basal cluster 
leaves on its numerous fruit -spurs, with here and there a wood-shoot 
or two. The condition of a tree which has been Loretted is in much 
the same condition ; its nourishment is largely dependent, indeed 
almost entirely, upon leaves of the basal cluster with the aid of those 
of the shoots which are not yet mature in the earlier prunings and of 
the twigs at the final pruning. 
Modifications have already been introduced by various writers, 
some of whom fear to give up winter pruning entirely. 
Personally, I do not adhere to getting all the pruning done at a 
more or less stated time. Where the ladder is required, the upper 
parts of the trees are fairly well cleaned up, but where one can reach 
from the ground I rather ramble around at any odd time and then 
deal with such shoots as may seem to require treatment. Diffi- 
culties may arise — or should I say judgment is sometimes required ? — 
where trees are irregular and not standardized, as also in the balance 
of the upper and lower parts of the trees. Where doubt exists, it 
is perhaps safer to cut here and there only two or three leaves, when 
sap-drawers seem scanty or where the check of too much luxuriance 
might provoke too great a flow of sap where it is not required. In such 
cases, when, say, two secondary shoots have appeared, I cut the main 
shoot above the lower secondary. The white mildew is apt to denude 
a shoot except for its terminal leaves and the basal cluster, then possibly 
it is as well to cut to the basal cluster, and one ought to dip the secateurs 
occasionally in Lysol or some other lotion, at any rate before proceeding 
to another tree ; but I fear it is not often done. The treatment of 
the twiggy shoot (" brindille ") will also give cause for thought. I have 
not tried the transfixion method,* in which the " downbend " 
is combined with piercing the stem between the third and fourth 
leaves with a budding knife. 
Too early pruning rather tends to set back and delay growth, 
whilst if thorough woodiness has developed, the desired accessory 
growths do not appear so satisfactorily as when the condition of the 
shoot is just right ; on the whole, I fancy it is better to be rather 
too early than too late on fully formed trees. 
* Lorette, p. 177. 
VOL, XLIII, T 
