OcTOBER I, 1902 
work, viz,, fracturing shoots to induce the 
formation of fruit-bearing spurs, is applied 
chiefly to the pip fruits, such as the apple 
and pear, but sometimes to the plum also. 
For the first few years after being set into 
the orchard these trees under favorable con- 
ditions make very strong growth indeed. 
The hard winter pruning needed to form a 
stout-limbed tree aggravates this tendency, 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER 
7. 
lateral shoots and leave the lower portions 
of the main arms and branches quite bare 
and unproductive. A better plan is to retain 
a reasonable number of: these laterals and 
transform them, by means of fractures made 
near their bases, into short stubby growths, 
which eventually become  fruit-bearing 
spurs, 
No fixed time can be set down for this 
Piate V.---Showing barren growths on Peach limbs. 
and causes almost every bud which grows 
to become a long and slender shoot. Cutting 
these again the next winter only increases 
the difficulty-by multiplying the number of 
rank shoots, Of course the leading shoots 
must be cut back fairly short for several 
Ei Geers 
operation, beyond stating that when the 
summer is waning the shoots will be ina 
condition favourable for the work. The 
pruner should try to ncte the time when 
growth is practically done and the sap has 
begun to recede, 
FIG 2, 
Prate VI.—Barren growth shortened in to refurnish with fruiting wood. 
winters to secure shape and stability, but it 
is a mistake to treat lateral shoots likewise, 
for the reasons given above. Recognising 
the difficulty of overcrowding the branches, 
many pruners entirely suppress most of the 
The latetal should be either broken over 
a knife-blade or between the fingers above 
the second or third bud from its base. It 
must not be severed completely, but merely 
broken half through and allowed to hang 
down The hanging portion remains green, 
and assists in the vegetation of the tree, and 
absorbs a certain quantity of sap, thus en- 
abling the buds upon its unbroken base to 
develop into short stubs, but checks further 
development into long laterals should the 
supply of sap be moderately large. 
Ifa late rain occurs and the tree is stimu- 
lating to second growth, it may be necessary 
to rebreak any strong laterals arising from 
the .buds designed to be spurs. In the 
treatment applied during the following 
winter care must be taken not to make a 
clean, quickly-healing section below the 
fracture. ‘This would cause the topmost spur 
to lengthen into an unwieldly lateral, and the 
pruner’s object in causing the fracturé would 
be defeated, : 
This method of inducing fruitfulness, as 
applied to young pip fruit trees, is to be 
commended to our orchardists, in that it 
not only saves t'me in winter pruning, but 
will ultimately place much fruit where it is 
safe fromstorms and within easy reach in 
harvest time. . 
This is a practice which can be cheaply 
applied, and in most seasons one operation 
suffices. The tedious attention required in 
constantly pinching back the growing 
laterals as recommended and practised in 
Europe in the formation of fruit spurs upon 
pear trees could not in all probability be 
adopted here by commercial .orchardists 
owing to the cost of labour, but this practice 
will actually conserve labour as well as the 
energies of the tree. 
In support of the contention that it is 
a labour-saving practice, I may say that I 
made atest of this upon two pear trees of 
equally vigorous habits of growth, planted 
about six years previously. The strong 
laterals upon one tree were broken, during 
January, those upon the other were left 
intact. The winter following I carefully 
pruned these trees. The tree upon which 
the laterals had been fractured took ten 
minutes to prune, while the other occupied 
upwards of thirty-five minutes, and the 
result has proved far less satisfactory, 
Selecting Orchard Trees. 
See re 
By C. Bocur Lurrmanyn, 
Of all the difficulties attendant on esta- 
blishing a new orchard, nothing is more 
pronounced than the scarcity of trees 
which fill the requisite conditions. 
The number of trees planted annually 
is appalling from the orchardist’s point of 
view, when it is obseryed how few survive 
an become sources of profit. The causes 
are at both ends of the tree’s career—in 
tne place where it receives its birth not 
less than where it receives its burial. 
In the first place, many trees are not 
wel] made; in the second, a little neglect 
or adverse weather, and the rest is easy. 
What are the common defects of our 
young trees? They are made in too 
great haste, and in many instances they 
ara not made at all—as trees—but only as 
