THE WINTER STUDY OF FRUIT TREES. 
19 
is more definite, and it is therefore adopted. In the wood bud and 
support we have characters of great value ; in fact, they represent one 
of the most constant characters available during the winter. 
The wood bud being a resting structure has not been submitted to 
the varying actions of external conditions as much as the developed 
shoot or leaf, and it is remarkable how constant well-developed wood 
buds are, even when submitted to the test of measurement. At the 
base of the shoot many buds are found in a state of partial development 
owing to premature fall or injury to the leaf and equally at the tip of 
the shoot such buds are often found. But by comparing the buds at 
the centre of the shoot we find a very near approach to constancy of 
form and size. In the fruit buds we find also certain very marked 
differences which will be considered later. 
The remarkable variations in form shown by adult trees are well 
known ; in all fruits we find the upright and weeping forms, while the 
flat, umbrella-shaped, and round-headed trees are equally obvious. 
It is often objected that pruning may alter these characters, but 
this is only possible in a strictly limited degree. No amount of pruning 
to a downward pointing bud will make an upright tree into a pendulous 
one, for the shoot from a bud will always take its natural direction, 
short of being trained while green in a contrary mode. 
As the tree becomes large the weight of fruit and also the weight 
of its own branches will to some extent pull down the main branches, 
thus rendering it difficult to see differences in growth in old trees. 
But even this is only so within certain limits : the upright form of the 
Pear ' Beurre Clairgeau/ for example, is preserved even during heavy 
crops. 
A character which is quite unchangeable by cultivation is the habit 
of branching. In most kinds of fruits we find varieties with stout 
branches which do not produce much spur or lateral wood, and in con- 
trast with these those which produce abundance of fine twiggy wood 
and spurs. The Apples ' Blenheim Orange ' and ' Worcester Pear- 
main ' are good examples of these two classes. 
It will be seen that these characters are not all of equal value 
in the different points ; in stone fruits, for instance, the fruit buds 
are not so distinct as the wood buds, and in Apples the reverse is 
found. 
These are the main points which will be considered in detail in 
each of the following sections. 
Apples. 
The general outline taken by adult trees of Apples is best shown in 
standard trees, and any fruit-grower will have noted the more striking 
differences. The strong horizontal branches of the ' Rambours,' the 
compact, round-headed ' Nonpareils, ' with their closely set spurs, repre- 
sent the extremes very well. It is noticeable that upright-growing 
trees are rare in Apples. Such varieties as ' Annie Elizabeth ' or ' Gloria 
