October  2,  1902. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
315 
Among  the  Fruit  Trees. 
We  have  heard  a  great  deal  this  season  about  the 
scantiness  of  the  Apple  crop,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
in  some  orchards  and  plantations  the  crop  is  a  lighter  one 
than  it  has  been  for  years  ;  on  the  other  hand  many  trees 
may  be  met  with  ladened  with  good,  though  not  very  highly 
coloured,  fruits.  I  have  read  several  reports  of  the  fruit 
crops  in  Warwickshire,  and  each  seems  to  indicate  that  the 
Apple  crop  is  a  complete  failure.  Such  reports  do  not  by 
any  means  give  an  accurate  account  applicable  to  the  county 
generally,  though  they  may  be  true  of  certain  localities.  In 
some  of  the  warmer  districts  fruit  of  all  descriptions  is  very 
scarce,  while  in  the  colder  ones  Apple  and  Plum  trees  are 
as  a  rule,  carrying  good  crops.  Another  point  I  have  noticed 
is  that  isolated  trees,  the  branches  of  which  have  been  kept 
fairly  thin,  are  fruiting  better  than  those-  in  more  sheltered 
positions.  These  things  seems  to  indicate  that  where  full 
exposure  retarded  the  blossom  buds,  they  were  just  late 
like  the  present.  When  it  is  done  during  the  first  week  in 
August  the  cut-back  shoots  do  not  often  start  into  growth 
again,  but  they  sometimes  will.  It  is,  therefore,  scarcely 
safe  to  cut  the  side  shoots  closely  upon  spur-pruned  trees. 
This  necessitates  going  over  them  again  during  the  autumn 
or  winter.  Pruning  during  September,  however,  answers 
the  purpose  of  summer  and  winter  pruning  too,  as  the  shoots 
may  be  cut  back  to  any  point  without  fear  of  their  starting 
again,  and  while  the  leaves  are  yet  on  the  trees,  it  is  easy 
to  see  exactly  how  much  thinning  is  necessary.  Some  main¬ 
tain  that  trees  cannot  be  completely  pruned  until  the  fruit 
has  been  gathered,  and  this  is  certainly  true  of  any  which 
have  been  neglected,  because  many  of  the  bearing  shoots 
will  need  cutting  away  in  consequence  of  being  worn  out,  or 
to  allow  more  light  to  penetrate  to  the  inner  branches. 
Such  cases  are,  therefore,  exceptions  to  the  rule,  that 
pruning  can  be  completed  now  instead  of  during  the  winter. 
On  the  other  hand,  when  the  thinning  of  the  shoots  is 
regularly  performed  each  year  as  a  rule  only  the  young 
wood  requires  to  be  removed  or  shortened  ;  this,  there- 
Nymphaea  stellata  at  Gunnersbury. 
enough  to  escape  the  May  frosts.  I  am  more  than  ever  con¬ 
vinced  of  the  wisdom  of  planting  on  upland  sites  rather 
than  in  the  lowlands,  even  when  it  has  to  be  done  at  a 
disadvantage  with  regard  to  soil. 
A  greater  amount  of  sunshine  throughout  the  summer 
would  have  been  decidedly  beneficial  for  fruit  trees,  but  I 
question  if  we  have  had  too  much  rain.  Two  or  three  dry 
seasons  previously  had  the  effect  of  greatly  limiting  the 
growth  of  trees,  causing  them  in  innumerable  instances  to 
become  stunted.  Fruit  trees  which  continue  in  that  con¬ 
dition  for  long,  may  bear  well  for  a  few  years,  but  the  fruit 
gets  smaller,  and  the  trees  become  weaker  each  year,  until 
for  a  time  they  are  almost  worthless,  unless  special  methods 
of  feeding  are  adopted.  The  copious  rains  of  1902  have 
promoted  growth  in  a  remarkable  degree,  and  when  the 
trees  get  suitable  treatment  there  is  no  reason  why  that 
growth  should  not  yet  become  well  ripened,  as  a  fine  late 
September  and  October  always  benefits  fruit  trees 
immensely.  Raisers  of  trees  have,  no  doubt,  blessed  the 
rains  of  early  summer,  as  young  trees  have  made  more 
growth  since  then  than  they  sometimes  do  in  two  years. 
Summer  pruning  is  of  special  benefit  during  seasons 
fore,  can  be  done  better  now  than  later  on,  because  it  lets 
in  the  light  to  ripen  both  wood  and  fruit.  Young  shoots 
which  are  not  required  should  be  cut  back  to  within  two  or 
three  buds  of  their  base.  When  the  terminal  shoots  on  a 
branch  are  strong  and  sturdy  they  need  no  shortening.  If 
they  are  long  and  thin,  in  fact  not  self-supporting,  shorten 
them  back  moderately,  not  hard,  as  some  primers  cannot 
resist  the  temptation  of  doing,  and  as  a  result  get  several 
strong  shoots  the  following  year.  When  a  shoot  is  very 
1  weak  cut  it  back  hard.  Any  shoots  which  are  still  growing 
freely  at  the  points  should  have  the  soft  portion  removed, 
even  if  they  are  strong  and  erect  and1  do  not  require 
shortening  on  that  account.  Varieties  like  Lady  Sudeley, 
which  fruit  on  the  tips  of  the  shoots,  should  have  the  ends 
of  the  leaders  removed,  the  side  shoots  being  thinned,  and 
those  retained  left  unshortened. 
A  good  many  controversies  have  been  waged  in  regard 
to  this  point,  viz. :  Will  Apple  or  Pear  trees  produce  a  shoot 
on  which  fruit  buds  will  form  during  the  same  vear  (except 
on  the  points)  1  Of  course  they  will.  It  just  depends  upon 
the  variety.  Early  sorts  often  do  this,  but  late  ones 
seldom. — Warwick. 
