Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 12.djvu/254

242 H O 11 T I C U L T U R E [PRUNING. which it is tied down in its proper place during the summer by a small twig. The upper shoots are cut closer in. Near the base of the stem are two prominent buds, which would produce two vigorous shoots, but these would be too near the ground, and the buds should therefore be suppressed ; but, to strengthen the lower part, the weaker buds just above and below the lowest branch should be forced into growth, by making a transverse incision close above each. Fig. 67, b shows what a similar tree would be at the end of the third year s growth. In order to bring a young tree into the cordon shape, all its side branches are shortened back, either to form perma nent spurs, as in the case of pears, or to yield annual young shoots, as in peaches and nectarines. The single-stemmed cordon may be trained horizontally, obliquely at any re quired angle, or vertically if required, the first two arrange ments being preferable. If a double cordon is required, the original young stem must be headed back, and the two best shoots produced must be selected, trained right and left, and treated as for the single cordon. The forms chiefly adopted for trees trained to walls and espalier rails are the fan-shaped, the half-fan, and the hori zontal, with their various modifications. Of late years the close pruning of the young trees has been objected to, and the &quot;extension system&quot; has, in many cases, been adopted. The maiden tree is headed down, and two shoots led away right and left. Two laterals should be allowed to grow from the upper side of them, one from near the base, the other from near the middle, all others being pinched out beyond the second or third leaf during summer, but cut away to the last bud in winter. The tree will thus consist of six shoots, probably 3 feet to 4 feet long, which are not to be pruned unless they are unequal in strength, a defect which is rather to be remedied by summer pinching than by winter prun ing. The second year three young shoots are to be left on each of the six, one close to the base, one about the middle, and one at the point, the rest being rubbed off. These three shoots will produce laterals, of which one or two may be selected and laid in ; and thus a number of moderately strong fertile shoots will be obtained, and at the end of the season a comparatively large tree will be the result. FIG. 68. Pruning for FIG. 69. The same Fan-Shaped Tree. third year. The method of pruning formerly adopted for the forma tion of a fan-shaped tree was to head down the maiden plant to about two eyes, so placed as to yield a young shoot on each side (fig. 68), the supernumerary shoots being rubbed off while quite young, and the reserved shoots trained against the wall during the summer so as to get them well matured. The next year they were cut back again, often nearly to the base, in order that the lower pair of these shoots might each produce two well placed young shoots, and the upper pair three young shoots. The tree would thus consist of ten shoots, to be laid out at regular distances, and then if closely cut the skeleton of the tree would be as in fig. G9. These main shoots were not again to be shortened back, but from each of them three young shoots were to be selected and trained in two, on the upper side, one near the base, and the other half way up, and one on the lower side placed about midway between these two ; these with the leading shoot, which was also to be nailed in, made four branches of the current year from each of the ten main branches, and the form of the tree would therefore be that of fig. 70. The other young shoots produced were pinched off while quite young, to throw all the strength of the tree into those which were to form its basis, and to secure abundant light and air. In after years the leading shoot was not to be cut back, but all FIG. 70. The same fourth year. the lateral shoots were to be shortened, and from these year by year other shoots were to be selected to fill up the area occupied by the tree. In pruning for a horizontal tree the young maiden tree has to be headed back nearly to its base, and from the young shoots three are to be selected, the two best placed lower ones to form an opposite or nearly opposite pair of main branches, and the best placed upper one to continue the erect stem (fig. 71). This upper shoot is at the next winter pruning to be cut down to within about a foot of the &quot;^^.-j f *~* ~*~ FIG. 71. Pruning for Fio. 72. The same Horizontally-Trained Tree. third year. point whence it sprung, and its buds rubbed off except the upper one for a leader, and one on each side just below it to furnish another pair of side shoots ; these being trained in position, the tree would appear as in fig. 72. The same course is to be followed annually till the space is filled. Sometimes in very favourable soils and with vigorous trees two pairs of branches may be obtained in one season by summer-stopping the erect shoots and selecting others from the young growths thus induced, but more commonly the trees have to be built up by forming one pair of branches FIG. 73. The same fifth year. annually. The shoots are not at first lowered to the hori zontal line, but are brought down gradually ; and while the tree is being formed weak shoots may be allowed to grow in a more erect position than it is ultimately intended they should occupy. Thus in four or five years the tree will have acquired something the character of fig. 73, and will go on thus increasing until the space is filled.