484 
CULTURE OF PEARS. 
ted; but even upon this system, tl>e trees are a long time before they 
fill the wall, and many sorts remain very unfruitful for years after 
they are planted, and then often bear but half a crop. In fact it 
may generally be noticed, that the centre of a full pear-tree, with a 
few exceptions, is nearly or totally devoid of blossom-spurs. The 
manner of cutting out every other branch of a full grown tree, within 
a few inches of the perpendicular stem, to produce young branches, 
has been attended with good success. In horizontal training, the 
branches may be trained at about ten inches or a foot apart, accord¬ 
ing to the habit of growth, size of fruit, &c. each particular sort may 
possess. In the summer pruning, the superfluous young shoots 
should be shortened to about two inches, leaving the leaders at their 
full length. In the autumn, the spurs which were cut back in sum¬ 
mer will have produced a lateral from their extreme bud; you may 
then shorten the spur again below the point whence this lateral shoot 
starts, and also thin out the spurs to a proper distance. In winter 
pruning, always give preference to those fruit-bearing spurs which 
grow naturally, and cut away all artificial ones that may interfere 
with them. As the spurs produce fruit, keep them short by cutting 
off, in the winter pruning, that part which bore fruit the previous 
year to the next bud. By thus keeping the spurs short, and at a 
proper distance, they will not fail to produce fine fruit, whilst long 
spurs generally produce bad fruit of little or no flavour. Sometimes, 
after all a gardener s care, his trees are still unfruitful, because they 
grow too luxuriantly to form blossom-buds. In such cases, ringing 
is resorted to, but this is often without the desired effect, and hence 
many practical men are induced to adopt other means, such as tying 
the young branches down in summer, twisting and breaking the 
foreright shoots nearly through, to within five or six eyes of the bot¬ 
tom, and leaving the upper extremity suspended six or eight weeks, 
see Vol. 1, page 72. Some perform this operation in the autumn 
when the wood has become tough, and the sap has ceased to run ; 
and others at the time of summer pruning. Both these latter sys¬ 
tems have a very unsightly appearance, but they have been found to 
answer where ringing failed. 
In training en pyramid or en Quenouille, the young growing- 
shoots are bent down about August, and tied, in a drooping manner, 
with string or bass matting. At the winter pruning, these strings 
are taken off, and every shoot is shortened according to its strength, 
the perpendicular stem being trained up to the height which is 
thought most convenient; but as training will be further treated up¬ 
on shortly, and be illustrated by engravings, we forbear for the pre¬ 
sent saving any more on the subject. 
