m 
i 
B 
^y>^s- 
I 
2 
THEOEY AND PRACTICE OF PRUNING. 
.so W 
B 
el 
have said that the fruit of the Peach is produced upon the shoots of the previous year, which having 
once borne it, cannot do so again. The grand object of the pruncr, therefore, must be to provide an 
ample and regular supply of them in every part of the tree, and to take care that 
one part does not deprive another of its allotted nutriment. 
When the tree is fairly formed and fruit is expected, great care must be taken 
to have this succession of young wood ; and as the principal arrangement of the 
young shoots is made during the period of their infancy, (and called disbudding,) we 
will proceed to offer a few remarks upon it, first explaining by fig. 4 the mode in 
which the succession is kept up. From A to B represents a piece of two years' old 
wood, which has borne fruit in the past year ; from B to C is wood of last year's 
growth ; and the shoot D is also of last year. If the gardener were to retain all 
the shoots which he finds, his tree would be too crowded ; for he must not forget 
the importance of light, to which we have so often adverted. He will therefore cut 
out the new barren wood from A to B, with its point of young growth C, leaving 
the shoot D to replace it for next season ; to be itself replaced by a new shoot from 
the lowest bud at its base. By observing this rule ad infinitum, trees may be kept 
well furnished with bearing wood for many years, whilst by neglecting it the finest 
trees may be spoiled in two years. 
When an additional supply of young wood is required, the young shoots must be 
shortened back to within a few inches of the base. In the case of shoots which have 
few leaf buds, and those only at the extremities, if this is not attended to, nakedness 
must result. It is of consequence in fan training that a certain proportion of wood 
be annually cut back for future supply. Where wood is not wanted, some of the 
shoots may be retained at their full length; but the greater proportion may be 
shortened a little, as the points will often be found unripe. 
We now come to the consideration of a portion of preventive pruning, which docs, 
or should do, the greater part of the regulation of the wood of the complete tree in 
a state of full bearing. We mean disbudding. It must be apparent that if all the 
leaf buds upon the last year's shoots were allowed to grow uncontrolled, a forest 
of spray would be produced, which would be weak, watery, and unripe, instead of 
being hard as mahogany, with plump and well-organised buds ; and it is equally 
true that there is a certain quantum of foliage necessary for the elaboration of sap 
under the influence of light. All superfluous growths, then, instead of adding to, 
diminish the store of organisable matter for a future year. Hence the importance of 
removing them in then- young state, and preventing their undue appropriation of 
those energies of the tree, for which, in their crowded state, the)' can reciprocate 
nothing. 
We will suppose the fruit of the Peach just formed, and the young shoot from 
one and a half to two and a half inches in length. This is the period most im- 
portant in the formation and perpetuation of the supply of young wood. All which 
arc not required for next year's bearing must now be removed, always leaving that 
one which proceeds from the lowermost bud and the leading one, and thinning the 
others so as to leave no more than can be exposed to light ami air. When a fruit 
is formed at the base of a shoot which would otherwise be removed as unnecessary, 
it may be stopped at about two and a half or three inches, as the leaves ussisi in 
elaborating matter for its nourishment. Frequently what are called ■• adventitious" 
buds are protruded from the old wood, ((his occurs most commonly in Koyal George 
Peaches); the careful operator will not fail to regard as a great boon any (hat are 
well placed, and to preserve them accordingly. 
The great art of pruning consists in so arranging and balancing the parts of a 
tree that no one attains undue luxuriance, or becomes, on the other hand, too much 
debilitated from its low position or over bearing. Constant care is ncccssun to arrest 
(lie undue progress of the stronger wood by timely pinching (stopping), and it is the 
judicious practice of an excellent gardener to stop the points ofall the central sho 
about the time of the maturation of the fruit, leaving the lower branches untouched, 
and allowing them to continue their growth. 
It is usual, in fan training the Peach, to allow the young wood to be produced both on the upper 
and lower side of the principal branches. Mr. Seymour, an excellent gardener, departed from this 
1= ~ 
z 
\ 
'■--' 
