Unless this important detail is attended to, the symmetry
and fruit-bearing capacity of the tree also will be liable
to deteriorate. If some of the spurs are becoming long,
and too far away from the branches, say more than eight
or nine inches, they must be shortened, as otherwise
the flowers will be fully exposed to the spring frosts,
and the fruits to the autumn winds. Thinning the spurs,
too, must have attention ; for, if they are allowed to
become crowded, fruit buds will cease to form upon
them, and their value will be lost. If, however, some
are cut out altogether when it becomes necessary, they
will continue properly to serve their purpose. Spurs
upon the apple tree should not be less than six inches
apart from each other. The fruit buds that form upon
the basal portion of the shoot left at the winter pruning
usually, but not invariably, need two years before they
are capable of bearing fruit. In this case, the .fruit bud
becomes plump during the spring after the shoot is
pruned, develops a few leaves in the following summer,
and by the next spring is ready to produce blossoms,
which should give fruit in the autumn of the same year.
