270 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, 
One objection that has been raised is that the method could not be 
adopted for commercial growth on the large scale, because so much time 
would be needed when other matters, picking &c, must be done. 
Coutant reports that he commenced in 1913, after a year's trial on a 
small scale in 1912, to treat 20,000 trees on Lorette's system, that is 
to say two-fifths of his trees ; though no doubt the war has interrupted 
the progress of this large scale trial, its inception shows what a French- 
man thinks possible with their alert workers, when a lad of seventeen 
years may be entrusted with the pruning of a couple of thousand Pear- 
trees. 
Once training of stipulary shoots has been commenced, the tree 
should not be moved until the training is completed. I say so from 
experience of one in which the direction of stipulary shoots from another 
eye than that originally designed was rectified by careful transplanta- 
tion, and at least a year was lost. There is tendency to form fruit 
blossoms instead of wood shoots, and the tree has to be wheedled 
back into growth. 
Conversion from Former Methods to Lorette's System. 
Lorette considers that the interval of 30 cm. is too short to be 
allowable between main support branches, consequently these are to 
be cleared out so as to leave about 15 inches (40 cm.) or more in the 
case of 9 or 10 ft. pyramids. First of all, the tree must be left without 
any winter pruning ; in the spring, superfluous structural branches 
are cleared out. In shortening the side branchlets, in conversation, 
M. Lorette was very insistent on never leaving less than about 4 
or 5 inches. After this cutting back, those new shoots which have 
become woody and as thick as a pencil are removed, whilst the weaker 
ones are cut back to three good eyes ; this will be done about the 
end of May (Pears) over the upper part of the tree, and two or three 
weeks later, in June, over the lower part. In July, if two shoots have 
grown from two eyes having broken, the end one is removed and the 
lower one cut back below leaves with apparent eyes, given that a length 
of 9 or 10 inches has been attained. Personally I have been rather 
conservative and cut back side branches hard where there was no 
prospective fruit, and leaving parts with existing fruit to a certain 
extent for another season ; my plan has been to avoid too much 
hurry in the conversion, and to use the " taille sur rides " in subsequent 
seasons, cutting to old fissured or wrinkled bark in May or June (Pears), 
up to August (Apples). The shock produced on a tree seems much 
less when heavy cutting is done in May onwards than when it is 
done in the winter. Having once made a good start, the subsequent 
procedure is as has already been outlined. 
Training Principles. 
Three main guiding features are insisted upon : (1) The distancing 
of support branches, (2) the use of shoots derived from stipulary 
