156 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
the open centre trees are distinctly less alternate and more regular 
in their bearing. But with ' Early Victoria ' the habit seems to be 
quite as marked among the open centre trees as among the unpruned 
trees. It is hardly to be expected, in any case, that the habit will, 
on the average, be appreciably checked by open centre pruning ; the 
result with ' Allington ' and ' Newton Wonder ' is probably accidental. 
The difference between the open centre and unpruned trees in 
regard to disease is as yet very slight. On the average the fruit of the 
open centre trees is slightly less affected by scab than that of the 
unpruned trees, and one would expect this difference to increase as 
the trees get older. In regard to mildew and canker the differences 
noticed are probably entirely due to the cutting out of possible places 
for infection in the open centre pruning ; the open centre trees have 
nearly always a slightly smaller number of infections. 
Effect of Short-spur Pruning. 
It has already been pointed out that the only difference between 
the " long-spur pruning " and " short-spur pruning " methods lies 
in the length of lateral left at the first spurring, i.e. the first time it 
is cut. There are, of course, other differences between individual trees, 
but these should on the average be no greater then those between 
individual trees in the same group. 
The most obvious result of short-spur pruning as compared with long- 
spur pruning is the reduction of the blossom. Table VII. shows this 
as far as blossom counts are available. 
Table VII. — Average Number of Blossom Buds per Tree. 
Type of Pruning. 
1920. 
1921. 
Long- spur. 
Short-spur. 
Long-spur. 
Short-spur. 
Allington ..... 
141 
73 
166 
89 
Beauty of Bath 
170 
90 
268 
165 
Bismarck ..... 
2 
7 
Cox's Orange .... 
126 
52 
Early Victoria (Crab) 
91 
52 
(Paradise) . 
82 
54 
Gladstone (Crab) 
9 
11 
(Paradise) . 
13 
8 
Grenadier (Crab) 
5° 
33 
91 
60 
,, (Paradise) . 
78 
34 
James Grieve (Crab) . 
201 
141 
(Paradise) 
219 
133 
Lane's Prince Albert . 
64 
51 
96 
78 
Lord Derby .... 
94 
61 
Newton Wonder 
139 
68 
139 
116 
Norfolk Beauty 
80 
32 
Rival 
69 
13 
Worcester Pearmain (Crab) 
85 
78 
IOI 
99 
(Paradise) . 
93 
67 
Average .... 
108 
65 
106 
67 
