February 17) 1894. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
389 
PRUNING FRUIT TREES.* 
By H. C. Prinsep. 
This is a subject so broad and comprehensive that 
it affords far more material for discussion and 
explanation than it is possible to give in an essay so 
concise as this must necessarily be. When we come 
to consider that there is such a number of genera to 
be treated of, each requiring a different method of 
pruning, it will be readily understood that it is 
impossible to do justice to all in the limited space of 
a short paper. For instance, we have the genus 
Pyrus, which includes the Apple and Pear; Prunus, 
that of the Plum and Apricot ; Amygdalus, com¬ 
prising the Peach and Nectarine; Cerasus, or 
Cherry ; and Ribes, the Currant and Gooseberry ; in 
addition to which we have the Quince (Cydonia), 
Raspberry, Blackberry, and Nut. From the pre¬ 
ceding list it will at once be seen that to discuss 
fully each genus separately would take up more 
time than is at present available, so I will take some 
of the most important of them, and try 
to show you how it is that better results 
are now obtained from a more scientific 
knowledge of this branch of pomology 
than was formerly the case. 
“Pruning is ’an art,” said a great 
writer on fruit culture. True, and 
how few, even amongst the more 
advanced pomologists, thoroughly under¬ 
stand the art. To my mind, every 
person before he takes a shoot off a 
tree should perfectly understand for 
what purpose it is to be removed and 
what would be the effect of leaving it 
untouched. We as often see trees 
spoiled through a too liberal use of 
the pruning knife, as we do through its 
not being used enough ; therefore all 
would-be fruit growers should thoroughly 
understand that it is not the cutting 
away of this or that shoot that will 
alone produce fruitfulness, but a proper 
manipulation of either root or branch, 
or both as the case may require. It 
is by giving more thought to the trees' 
requirements that better resuKs are 
now obtained than were formerly 
thought possible. In olden times gar¬ 
deners used to bud and graft their own 
fruit trees, and many were the varieties 
of stocks used for those purposes. 
Some would graft the Pear on the White 
Thorn in the hope of preventing the 
Pear wood from growing too strong, but 
the result was anything but satisfactory. 
Grafting and budding are now done 
in nurseries, and gardeners usually go 
there, to purchase their trees. These 
may be had either as maidens, bushes, 
pyramids, cordons, standards, or trained, 
so that the stocks now used are of 
more uniform growth than of old, and 
are therefore better adapted to the 
various modes of training to which they 
are now subjected. Having procured 
our trees, which in this instance we 
will suppose to be maiden Apples or 
Pears (that is, trees with only one straight shoot), 
we ask, “what are these maiden trees to be turned 
into ” ? that is, how are they to be “ pruned ” ? as this 
is the subject of our evening’s discussion. We will 
first suppose they are required for double horizontal 
cordons. This implies that they are to be allowed 
to make two shoots which shall be brought down to 
a horizontal position and trained in that direction to 
wires or other supports. We have to consider the 
height at which these shoots are to be kept from the 
ground, and from experience we find that fifteen 
inches is the most suitable elevation, for then the 
fruit is not so likely to get splashed by heavy rains 
nor shaded by other crops. Having thus determined 
the height, the maiden tree must be shortened, so 
that the two top eyes that are opposite to each other 
may form the leading shoots, and all other buds 
should be picked out, so that the sap may be con¬ 
centrated in those left. When the young growths 
from these two eyes have attained a length of about 
a foot, they should be tied to sticks, and at first 
trained to an angle of 45°. But, before the wood 
* A paper read at a meeting of the Brighton and Sussex 
Horticultural Society. 
gets hard these shoots should be brought down to a 
horizontal position, and in this posture they should 
be secured till the time of pruning in winter. Having 
been successful so far with the maiden tree, we must 
next consider what kind of growth it is likely to 
make. If a very strong growing variety, then the 
shoots should be cut back to an under bud, for this 
to some extent checks the flow of sap, and so prevents 
growth from becoming too luxuriant. Other kinds 
of pruning will now have to be resorted to if we wish 
the tree to be fruitful at an early period ; for, as we 
only required one shoot from each of those cut back, 
more buds will break than are needed for our purpose, 
and those that are on the upper side of last season’s 
growth will break with more vigour than the one 
left to form the lead. 
What must be done with these growths is our next 
consideration ; to allow them to grow would take 
the sap from those we are desirous of encouraging; 
to pinch them off at once would only induce them 
to make lateral growths which would be useless, so 
Pear, Nouvelle Fulvie. 
we decide to retain them for a time, say till they are 
four or five inches long, according to their strength, 
then to take out their points. Lateral growth will then 
be made from the two or three top eyes, and when 
those have grown two or three inches long, the shoots 
should be cut off just below the bottom lateral, 
leaving two or three eyes on the growth that was 
made first, for as the season is by this time so far 
advanced, it is seldom the buds thus left break again, 
but they will become so plump that in the majority 
of cases they will either form fruit buds or make 
terminal ones that will turn into fruit buds the 
following season. Thus far, then, we have shown how 
to form a double horizontal cordon. The same may 
be said of a horizontally trained tree for a wall, 
with the exception that the leading bud on the per¬ 
pendicular shoot should be left at the back, so that 
the young growth may be towards instead of away 
from the wall. The distance the horizontal shoots 
are trained from each other depends much on the 
variety, but for most kinds a foot should be allowed. 
Let us now turn our attention for a short time to 
a pyramid or bush tree in the open, and see in what 
manner we can manipulate the shoots there. In 
starting trees of this description it is necessary to 
take into consideration the amount of space avail¬ 
able ; the kind of crop, if any, that is to be grown 
between them; also the soil, situation, and any 
other little thing that is likely to crop up as regards 
tenancy, &c., and having done this we will now pro¬ 
ceed to take our trees in hand. Both pyramids and 
bush trees have a great advantage over standards, 
except on grass land, for as the trees are more 
sheltered from the wind, the fruit is not so likely to 
be blown down by heavy gales just as it is attaining 
maturity. The trees are also more under control, 
may be pruned with greater ease, and in every way 
are more amenable to modern conveniences. In 
pruning trees of this description two things are 
necessary : first, when making a start, the operator 
should know exactly what kind of a tree he may 
expect when it is ten or twelve years old, and that at 
this age it will need support other than that drawn 
from the natural soil, so that preparations must be 
made accordingly. Secondly, he should never stunt 
a tree’s growth by such ridiculous modes 
as ringing or twisting the shoots into 
all contorted shapes imaginable, for 
these pigmy trees are of little service 
to anyone. Again, he should not bend 
or partly break off the leading shoots 
in summer with the hope of producing 
fruitfulness in the way sometimes seen, 
for this not only does not answer the 
purpose, but causes an unsightly 
appearance, and shows that the person 
practising it is not well up in his pro¬ 
fession. When pruning a bush tree 
always cut to an outside bud, that is, 
one on the underside of the shoot, for 
then the growth of the following sea¬ 
son will grow out straight from the 
main stem. Should two shoots be 
required to fill in a vacant space, cut 
to a side bud in such a manner that the 
top of the cut is just above the bottom 
of the bud ; then as the shoot from the 
bud grows, the bark will heal over the 
wound. In a similar manner to that 
recommended for cordon trees, all 
shoots, except those required for 
extending the size of the tree, should 
be pinched back in summer, and removed 
by the first week in August, so that the 
basal buds may have time to plump be¬ 
fore the wood gets too hard to allow the 
sap to flow freely. 
Having thus explained the mode of 
pruning the Apple and Pear, both in 
summer and winter, we must now turn 
our attention to the requirements of 
their roots, which in a great many 
instances are of as much importance as 
the manipulation of their branches. On 
some soils, such as cold clay, it is often 
necessary to look to the roots, for they go 
down into this ungenial earth and so cause 
the shoots to become unproductive. More 
especially is this the case with choice 
Pears. If the soil be rich, young trees 
will make rapid growth, so much so that 
in about four years after they are planted 
it will be found necessary to lift them, and if this be 
done carefully the trees will not suffer in the least. By 
no means should the roots be so mutilated that two 
or three years must elapse before the trees can 
recoup themselves. For a tree that has been planted 
four years, say from the time it was a maiden, a 
trench should be taken out all round at least 4 ft. 
from the stem, and all roots carefully preserved, 
forking out the earth from between them till the 
stem is reached. The tree should then be lifted out 
of the hole, a little fresh soil being added, and 
worked in with that already there. In addition to 
this a slight sprinkling of soil should be spread over 
it. The tree may then be replaced working fresh 
soil in about the roots till they are covered. Trees 
treated in this way scarcely feel the check, for the 
fibrous roots so soon take hold of the soil that they 
start readily in spring and carry full crops of fine 
fruit. It is not well to overload newly lifted trees 
as this only impoverishes them and prevents their 
recouping themselves the first season. After trees 
have once been lifted in the above manner it may be 
four or five years before their roots again require 
attention. The fresh soil added causes plenty of 
