CULTIVATION OF THE PEACH. 
l05 
confirmed luxuriant habit in the trees ; but 
as these remedies are only superficial, and can 
never effect a permanent cure, in consequence 
of their not being directed towards the cause 
of the evil, they ought never to be practised ; 
at the best, they are only mutilations, and 
deserve to be regarded as empirical and 
quackish, rather than as resulting from a 
knowledge of the structure and constitution of 
plants. It will be seen that the operations of 
gardening cannot be spoken of unconditionally, 
or detached from all bearing on other opera- 
tions and circumstances : thus, pruning, which 
is an operation rendered necessary by obvious 
circumstances and conditions, and which, when 
skilfully regulated, tends to establish and 
maintain the fertility of a tree, is yet, never- 
theless, attended with results, not only unsa- 
tisfactory, but in direct opposition to those 
which are sought, if a proper degree of atten- 
tion is not at the same time directed to effect 
a balance between the limited capacities of the 
branches, and the source whence they derive 
their nourishment. 
Possibly it may not be altogether useless to 
inquire briefly into the nature of the circum- 
stances which justify the unintermitted per- 
formance of summer pruning. The production 
of fruit is the ultimate object in cultivating 
fruit-trees, and this result depends on the 
perfect elaboration and assimilation of the 
sap. Elaboration and assimilation depend, pri- 
marily, on the influence of heat and light ; 
and, secondarily, on the surface of healthy 
foliage borne by the plants, in which the crude 
sap can be exposed to the influence of heat 
and light. ; assimilation does not depend on 
the number of the leaves borne, but on the 
extent of surface which they present to the 
action of light ; and, consequently, when they 
are crowded together, they shade each other, 
and thus prevent the light from acting fully 
on their surface : hence the necessity of 
taking care to remove all those shoots which, 
not being actually required, would, if allowed 
to remain, only impede the action of these 
organs throughout the plant. But as the 
assimilation of the sap depends on this in- 
fluence of light and heat on the greatest sur- 
face of healthy foliage which can be duly 
submitted to its action, and therefore it be- 
comes necessary to prevent the shoots from 
becoming crowded, which would impede the 
necessary elaboration ; so is it requisite that 
these useless shoots should be removed as early 
as their removal can be effected ; because, if 
they are allowed to become developed they 
take up a portion of food which should be 
otherwise appropriated ; and all the matter 
which is deposited in their elongation, and the 
formation of their leaves, is not only expended 
in vain, but is actually lost and abstracted 
from the plant when they are removed, at the 
same time that they have not been enabled 
to add to the deposit stored up in the plant, 
by reason of the limited term of their de- 
velopment. Neither could any advantage be 
derived from their presence, if they were 
suffered to remain, since they would tend to 
crowd together the organs of assimilation, and 
thus altogether to obstruct and impede their 
action. From the above considerations, we 
arrive at these conclusions : — that no greater 
number of shoots should be permitted to 
elongate than the space to be occupied will 
admit of their foliage being exposed to the 
light without overhanging each other, and 
thus preventing its access ; that the removal 
of useless and unnecessary shoots should take 
place as nearly as possible to the time of their 
development ; and that the supply of food to 
the roots, and its proper regulation, w T ith 
regard to the capacities of the branches, is the 
proper foundation upon which the necessary 
operation of pruning should be made to rest. 
As soon, therefore, as the buds begin to 
swell, a portion of the blossom buds should be 
removed from the tree ; these may be dis- 
tinguished from the leaf-buds by their being 
thick and blunt pointed. The first " dressing" 
should extend to the removal of one bud, 
wherever two blossom-buds are placed side by 
side on the shoot ; the weakest and most un- 
promising should, of course, be removed. 
When the shoots are developed to about one 
inch in length, all of these, exeept the best- 
placed one at the base, as already mentioned, 
should be removed if they at all crowd the 
plant, or if they have no fruit or blossom 
attached to them; should this latter be the 
case, a few of the most inconveniently placed 
should be removed, and the remainder left, 
until it can be ascertained whether the fruit is 
likely to swell oif ; they should not, however, 
be allowed to grow beyond the development 
of two or three leaves, whether this point may 
be attained before or after the value of the 
blossom can be ascertained. Next, when the 
young fruit have attained the size of small 
beans,, they should be looked over, and a few 
of the fruit removed, where they may appear 
to be crowded ; and again, when about twice 
this size, a still further reduction must be 
made. When they have attained to about 
the size of a pigeon's egg, they must be finally 
regulated. The distance at which they may be 
left is a variable point : if the tree is vigor- 
ous, a heavy crop may be taken ; if it is 
weakly, a much lighter crop only should be 
permitted to remain. A medium between 
these extremes is, to leave one fruit to 
come to perfection to about every square foot 
occupied by the tree ; though this must by 
no means be taken as an infallible standard. 
