442 
ON STOPPING THE SHOOTS OF FRUIT TREES. 
fruit trees with good effect. This is too often neglected, or, if done at 
all, is either performed too soon, or too late. We allude to what is 
called stopping the growth of the bearing wood of wall or other trained 
trees, whether in houses or in the open air, in order that the flower-buds 
on the base or lower part of the shoot may be prompted to swell, or be 
fuller charged with the arrested sap, and consequently be enabled to 
start with greater vigour in the following spring. 
To have a clear view of how far this practice is available, let us trace 
the summer progress of the shoots of the vine, peach, nectarine, 
apricot, cherry, and plum trees. All these may bear fruit on the 
shoots of this summer. They begin to grow, say in the month of April, 
continue lengthening through the warm season, and stop some time in 
the autumn. If these young selected shoots stop of themselves any 
time before the end of September, no manual stopping is deemed 
necessary, because while thus at rest, the wood is ripening, and the 
buds are swelling into form, and engrossing their winter covering. 
The fruit grower is pleased to see his trees assume this maturing 
state, as he knows that it is a certain sign of fruitfulness. It is in this 
state, that if the bearing wood of his vines be short-jointed, and have 
protuberant eyes, of firm woody consistence, and of a fine hazel-brown 
colour, those of his apricots, peaches, nectarines, &c., in like condition, 
he rests satisfied that the trees need no assistance. But if the shoots 
continue growing after the end of September, he thinks it right to give 
them an artificial check by cutting off the points. This naturally 
causes a stoppage in the ascending current of the sap, and an accumula¬ 
tion of it in the remaining part of the shoot, and which will have a 
tendency to plump the buds, and very likely cause two or three of 
those near the incision to burst into leaf. If this does happen, the 
manager thinks it no injury, provided the buds lower down on the shoot 
be benefited, those at the top which burst being removed at the next 
pruning. 
That this practice is judicious we have no doubt, as we have often 
seen it effective, and on vines particularly ; because a vine shoot, bearing 
a bunch or two of fruit at its base, may be repeatedly stopped without 
risking the buds intended for the next year’s crop. Peaches and nec¬ 
tarines, as well as apricots, plums, and cherries, may all receive assist¬ 
ance in this way, if the proper time be chosen for the performance. If 
done after the shoots have ceased growth, it can do no good ; and if 
too soon, many of the buds intended to be preserved will burst, and 
consequently be useless. 
An error which we once committed deserves to be instanced as a 
practical instance of the foregoing remarks :—A young moorpark 
