450 On Training Plum Trees against Walls. 
successful extent (the Pear excepted,) than any other fruit tree ; and 
if the soil is loamy, fresh, and good, it will reach its destination in 
much less time than that of any other tree ; and by an ordinary course 
of judicious management, a very regular supply of fine young fruc- 
tiferous wood may be retained in every part, but which it is often 
difficult to do with the Peach tree. There is another very great con- 
venience attending the Plum tree, from the circumstance (which is too 
much appealed to, as it fails of success) of its free production of fruit- 
spurs upon the older wood: — where a young shoot is not conveniently 
at hand, the spurs are not formed far off, so that there is always the easy 
means of having a very regular supply of blossoms over every part of the 
tree ; but upon no account, suffer the incumbrance of spurs to remain 
where the young shoots are sufficient. Those that are found necessary 
to be retained ought only to be upon the sides of the branches, so as to 
bring the blossom and fruit into contact with the wall, and to receive all 
the benefit of it ; but, for neatness' sake, and to do away with an incum- 
brance, the retained spurs must be kept as short as possible. Upon 
some of the two, three, and four-year-old wood, it is often found neces- 
sary, in some parts of the tree, to retain some of the front spurs ; but if 
so, let those be as close to the shoot as possibly can be done, so as to 
bring the blossom and fruit to the wall, as upon that very circumstance 
depends the success of wall-training, as much as all others. Too fre- 
quently we see the Plum-tree after being finely clothed with blossoms, 
and trained upon a favourable aspect, in the usual spurring manner, 
with but very little fruit set; — or if set, it either drops off prematurely, 
or else is small, stunted, or ill-shapen. By the young wood method, 
where the tree is neither over-burthened by too much useless wood, nor 
too heavy a load of blossoms and young fruit, — where the blossoms and 
fruit have the advantage of the wall, — I have rarely failed having abun- 
dant crops of Green Gages and Mirabelles, upon a north aspect, with a 
very low and wet cold border; and to have the fruit well ripened, par- 
ticularly fine, and of good flavour. 
Trees trained upon the old spur method, are readily and without loss 
of time, reduced to the successional young wood system ; and while they 
are forming, the act of so doing, renders them much more productive 
than they were previously ; and will continue to do so, from the com- 
mencement of the operation till the system is complete. 
In the commencement, numbers of the incumbering fore-right branches 
of long spurs, must be cut away, and only such are to be retained as 
will ply up to the wall, — all others to be cut clear out ; and those that 
are left must be considerably reduced in their spurs, and none left unless 
they be close to the wall. By such a reduction of incumbrance, and 
the remaining fructiferous wood laid in so as to receive every advantage 
from the wall, there will be plenty of fine fruit thejirst season, and the 
