PRUNING.] The half-fan is a combination of the two forms, but as re gards pruning does not materially differ from the horizontal, as two opposite side branches are produced in succession upwards till the space is filled, only they are not taken out so abruptly, but are allowed to rise at an acute angle and then to curve into the horizontal line. In all the various forms of cordons, in horizontal training, and in fan and half-fan training, the pruning of the main branches when the form of the tree is worked out will vary in accordance with the kind of fruit under treatment. Thus in the peach, nectarine, apricot, plum, and cherry, which are commonly trained fan-fashion, the .first two will have to be pruned so as to keep a succession of young annual shoots, these being their fruit-bearing wood. The others are generally pruned so as to combine a moderate supply of young wood with a greater or less number of fruit spurs. In the pear and apple the fruit is borne principally on spurs, and hence what is known as spur-pruning has to be adopted, the young shoots being all cut back nearly to their base, so as to cause fruit buds to evolve from the remain ing eyes or buds. Cordons of apples and pears have to be similarly treated, but cordons of peaches and nectarines are pruned so as to provide the necessary annual succession of young bearing wood. The nature of the cut itself in pruning is of more conse quence, especially in the case of fruit trees, than at first sight may appear. The branches should be separated by a clean cut at an angle of about 45, just at the back of a bud, the cut entering on a level with the base of the bud and passing out on a level with its top (fig. 74, ), for when FIG. 74. Cuts Good and Bad. cut in this way the wound becomes rapidly covered with new wood, as soon as growth recommences, whereas if the cut is too close the bud is starved, or if less close an ugly and awkward snag is left. Fig. 74, b and c, are examples of the former, and d, e, f of the latter. I)r Lindley has designated the cut shown at fig. 74, b the cut to the quick (Gardeners Chronicle, 1847, p. 19) : "In order to avoid the risk of the cut to the quick, some gardeners make use of the snag cut (d, e, /), in which the wound is niadii on the same side of the branch as that occupied by the bud, slanting downwards towards it. That plan is objectionable ; for it involves the necessity of leaving behind a dead portion of the branch, to be removed at a later pruning, so the work must be done twice over ; moreover, it is an admission of a want of the skill required to make the clean cut skilfully. Lastly, there is the slivering cut (c), in which a long ragged unequal shave is taken off the branch, much too low in the beginning, and much too high at the end. It is the cut made by garden labourers. It is clumsy, ugly, awkward, and dangerous, for it is apt to injure the branch on which it is made. Tn all cases, the amputation should lie made by one firm-drawn cut. The clean cut can be performed by a dexterous operator to_ within a shaving of the right line ; and the mastery of this art is no mean acquisition." In the case of fruit trees, and indeed of deciduous plants generally, pruning requires to be done during the winter or resting period, and the earlier in that period the better, as then the buds become plump and full of sap, and produce strong shoots when the time for growth arrives. If, on the contrary, it is done while the plant is in full growth, the whole system of the tree sustains a check, the circula tion is deranged, the quality of the sap becomes deteriorated, and a dead stump or unhealthy shoot is the frequent result. 243 This, however, does not apply to the pruning of the herb aceous or succulent growths of the current season, nor to soft-wooded plants generally, for this kind of pruning, called summer pruning, is essential to the formation of handsome specimens of the latter, and is a very important help in the formation of the fruit or blossom buds of fruit trees. Summer Pruning should be performed while the shoots are yet young and succulent, so that they may in most cases be nipped off with the thumb-nail. It is very necessary in the case of trees trained to a flat surface, as a wall or espalier rail, to prevent undue crowding. In some cases, as, for example, with peaches, the super fluous shoots are wholly removed, and certain selected shoots reserved to supply bearing wood for next year. In others, as pears, the tops of the young shoots are removed, leaving three or four leaves and their buds at the base, to be developed into fruit buds by the additional nourish ment thus thrown into them (fig. 75, a). One or two may FIQ. 75. Summer Pruning for Spurs. push out a late summer growth, b ; this will serve as a vent for the vigour of the tree, and if the lowermost only go to the formation of a fruit spur, the object will have been gained. They are cut to the last dormant bud in winter. But summer pruning has been much extended since the introduction of restricted growth and the use of dwarfing stocks. Orchard-house trees, and also pyramidal and bush trees of apples, pears, and plums, are mainly fashioned by summer pruning ; in fact, the less the knife is used upon them, except in the necessary cutting of the roots in potted trees, the better. In the case of orchard-house plants no shoots are suffered to lengthen out, except as occasionally wanted to fill up a gap in the outline of the tree. On the contrary, the tops of all young shoots are pinched off when some three or four leaves are formed, and this is done again and again throughout the season. When this pruning is just brought to a balance with the vigour of the roots, the consequence is that fruit buds are formed all over the tree, instead of a thicket of sterile and useless wood. Pyramidal and bush trees out of doors are, of course, suffered to become somewhat larger, and sufficient wood must be allowed to grow to give them the form desired ; but after the first year or two, when the framework is laid out, they are per mitted to extend very slowly, and never to any great extent, while the young growths are continually nipped off, so as to clothe the branches with fruit buds as closely placed as will permit of their healthy development. 1 The Pruning of Flowering Plants is generally a much lighter matter than the pruning of fruit trees. If a young seedling or cutting of any soft-wooded plant is to be bushy, it must have its top nipped out by the thumb-nail or priming-scissors at a very early stage, and this stopping must be repeated frequently. If what is called a well-furnished plant is required, an average of from 2 to 3 inches is all the extension that must be per- 1 On the general subject of pruning fruit trees tlie reader may use fully consult Thompson s Gardeners Asslsttuil, Brehaut s Modern Peach Primer, Forney s Jardinicr Fruitier, Hardy s Traite tie la Taille des Arbres Fruitlcrs. and Dubreuil s Culture des Arbres ft
Arbrisseaux il Fruits dc Table.
