154 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ AuftflUt 21, 1890. 
(leaving only one inch of wood) those that are in the middle of the 
tree, preserving at their full length all those that form a head like 
an inverted umbrella. The following February these are again 
shortened ; but this time allow about G inches of the new wood, 
and continue the operation for a few years, when the trees will 
begin to bear on the old wood. Keep the centres of the trees 
thinned out, and do not allow too many shoots to encumber the 
tree, but cut so that all hang free and do not cross each other. 
Possibly, in a few more years, some of these may be cut away with 
advantage, and there will be stronger ones taking the lead, and pro¬ 
vided they are in proper places, may be allowed to go ahead. I 
consider this severe pruning necessary at first, because some fruits 
(notably, Manx Codlin, Stone’s, and Lord Suffield Apples), if left 
uncut, form a mass of fruit buds, and come into bearing, and never 
afterwards get beyond a mop-sized head. Some Pears and Plums 
have the same tendency. 
In planting Plums (from the nature of their roots), if the 
planting is completed before Christmas, they may be pruned the 
first year of planting ; but if done after that time it is better to 
allow them to wait one year. Their after attention is the same as 
that advised for Pears and Apples, but as they grow more 
freely they need not be cut back so hard, as they form a head 
rapidly. 
In planting Cherries I strongly advise planters to let them 
stand the first year without cutting at all (except the roots as 
advised for Apples). In the following season cut them back as 
required, after which the less “ knifing” done on them the better, 
merely removing the crossing boughs. As Pears have fewer roots 
than Apples they must not be so severely cut. 
The management of bush or pyramidal trees will be the same 
as advised for standards, having regard to the form of tree desired, 
but as they are more protected from the wind, and the crop can be 
thinned, they may be left with longer shoots than standards. 
Apples upon the Paradise stock may be cut back the first season if 
planted early. 
In soft fruits, the prevailing custom of cutting them hard the 
first year cannot be improved upon ; but in case of late planting 
(say February or March) the resulting shoots are so thin and 
sappy that it may be best to let them stand a year to establish them¬ 
selves before pruning It is most desirable that they should be 
planted before December, as in that case the rootlets push and get a 
firm hold of the soil before winter sets in. In planting Raspberries 
for market, they may be shortened before planting to about 
2 feet. 
I now come to a more important point in pruning—namely, 
that of old or neglected trees, which are far too prevalent, and 
where faggots must be taken out to make any impression on the 
mass of useless wood they contain. In dealing with such examples 
we need to be very careful, for it is well known that large boughs 
sawn off Apples, Pears, Plums, and Cherries will sometimes 
result in decay, and in that case the tree suffers loss by heavy- 
laden boughs giving way at a weak spot. I am of opinion that it 
would be well not to cut these so close to the main stems and 
branches as is usually done, and that after the saw has been used the 
surface should be planed over or smoothed with a knife, and the 
edges neatly rounded with a sharp knife, so that the new bark can 
creep over and cover the wound. 
All old orchards have trees with holes in them—the favourite 
nesting-places of the starling and tom-tit. The wood decays, and 
the woodpecker first starts the aperture by searching for its food, 
and other birds take the opportunity to nest where they can 
readily make room in the soft spongy wood. All shoots over half 
an inch across should be rounded in the way indicated, and I 
strongly recommend that this pruning should be done as soon as 
the fruit is gathered, as the bark makes some progress to cover the 
wound, the same season, and the air being dry, the wood hardens 
(so to speak, heals) more than in the winter ; and, moreover, the 
shoots that are dead and leafless can at once be detected much 
more readily than when the leaf is off. Now that the strain of 
farm work is reduced by the grubbing of Hop land, more labour is 
at command for this work, and I must repeat that all this severe 
pruning should be done in the summer or autumn. Especially 
should all broken and split boughs be removed from Plums where 
injured by an over crop. I have heard of trees being severely in- 
jured by being pruned in a heavy frost, when the men could not 
work on the land, but I cannot say that it is always so. In pruning 
these “ old stagers ” it is not advisable to tip the branches, as the 
most lively wood, which draws the sap up freely, is on the points, 
and they nourish the tree. 
. The next point which I think worth a trial on a large scale is the 
thinning of the spurs. I have before me a fruiting branch of the 
old Yorkshire Apple, the Cockpit (a free bearer but too small 
for profit). When the trees bear, I have half the fruit taken off, 
but although that makes the fruit finer, I am now thinning the 
spurs so that they may be larger still, and I am persuaded that if 
half the spurs were taken from our old orchard trees, which is easy 
work with a tool like the one I am using, we should have much 
finer fruit, and the spurs if cut about an inch from the stem would,., 
in some cases, throw out other spurs, which in time would enable 
us to prune out those left in the former cutting, and thus we should 1 
have perpetual youth on the head of an ancient body. Pears are 
most profuse in the way they spur, and some kinds bear so freely 
that they are not inaptly said to crop like ropes of Onions. In the- 
case of Plums it is the same. The Diamond would bear more 
freely if half its spurs were taken out, and the Victoria under this- 
treatment would not be so liable to break as it does from carrying; 
such heavy crops. Jefferson again is a mass of spurs ; in fact, even> 
in winter, an expert can tell the names of leafless trees by the form* 
of the spurs, and the style they set on the branches. 
In removing what I may term surplus spurs, those found on the- 
under sides of the branches are of little value, and if I say, 
negatively, that the pruner should retain all those in the best 
positions, and remove the rest, you will get an idea how to work. 
The Crittenden, or Cluster Damson, is one which makes a mass- 
of thorny spurs, and I think these require thinning, as if left too 
thickly on the boughs the fruit is very small, and you will have 
noticed that the trees from suckers are much more inclined to 
thorn than those budded, which take more of the Plum nature. 
The King of the Pippins and Manx Codlin Apples, for example, 
are very fruitful trees, and I know that those who prune them on 
the spur system and shorten all the young growth defy the in¬ 
evitable canker which affects these sorts.- These close pruned trees 
grow marvellous fruit, which sells at a price that pays for extra¬ 
labour expended. Such kinds as Court Pendxi Plat and Keswick 
Codlin again make too many spurs. 
I can scarcely leave the subject of pruning without reference 
to the Kentish Cob Nut, a subject which requires more cutting 
and pruning than any other fruit. 
When received from the growers these trees have a small head! 
upon a stem of 12 to 15 inches, and this stem is intended that the 
ground beneath the bush may be the more readily kept free from 
weeds and be dug. They are planted as received, and allowed to 
grow for one year, when they should be cut hard in, to make them 
throw out vigorous shoots from the base of the head to form the 
start of the future tree. This is done by annually cutting, so that 
the next terminal shoot is made from an under bud, which in course- 
of time makes a tree formed like a washing basin. I note the 
best shaped trees have started with six to be doubled to twelve 
main branches. From these a set of spurs or short shoots are- 
given off, on which the nuts are produced, and the trees should 
be so managed that at the end of 100 years old they should be- 
15 or 20 feet across the top, but not higher than 5i feet from the 
ground. From the bent portion of the main boughs a number 
of strong yearling shoots will be given off, which in Kent are^ 
called wands. These are taken out in summer, or partially so, for 
packing the autumn fruit, and in winter the rest are broken out,, 
and either sold for flower sticks or basket making, or reserved to- 
pack soft fruit the next season. The male or catkin blossoms are 
produced most freely at the upper part of the trees, and should be 
allowed to remain long enough to fertilise the pistillate or female 
flowers, which are produced on the smaller boughs. When the 
weather is very still and warm it would pay to tap the boughs with 
a stick, to make this pollen fly. When winter pruning the spurs are 
thinned, and if need be stopped. Old wood is removed, and the- 
stronger growths shortened and thinned, leaving the tree regularly 
balanced on all sides, and with free play for the air and sun 
among the branches, remembering that the foliage is large on. 
pruned trees. If time permits in July or August, it is a great 
help to the strength of the tree to break the stronger shoots off: 
the upper boughs with the finger and thumb (a sharp twist being 
all that is required), this plumps up the buds below the fracture 
and assists the ripening of the wood, and it is found better than 
cutting, as the broken surface allows some sap to exude, and this- 
prevents the formation of a secondary growth, which would 
weaken the bush and be of no value to produce Nuts. In 
pruning (in winter), these cut ends are smoothly severed with a 
sharp knife. A careful pruner will proceed so that there is 
always abundance of fresh young wood in his examples, and when 
a twig shows signs of age, he cuts so that a fresh young one 
shall succeed it in the next year’s cutting, so that worn out 
twigs are never seen in ancient trees. Suckers from the roots 
should be hoed off in growth or severed with a sharp spade, 
and if well rooted some may be reserved to make future 
plants. 
In Continental works on fruit culture much stress is laid on the 
tools used. A few which we find useful as labour-savers are : 
1, Coppin’s tree pruner, avoiding the use of ladders in young trees ; 
made from 6 to 10 feet long. 2, American lightning saw, very 
