the chances are that he never forgets. Now you say to me--What is
the good of pruning or cutting this plum-tree? I'll tell you."

We were standing in front of the big red brick wall one bright winter's
day, for the time had gone by very quickly. Old Brownsmith had a sharp
knife in his hand, and I was holding the whetstone and a thin-bladed saw
that he used to cut through the thicker branches.

"Now look here, Grant. Here's this plum-tree, and if you look at it you
will see that there are two kinds of wood in it."

"Two kinds of wood, sir?"

"Yes. Can't you tell the difference?"

"No, sir; only that some of the shoots are big and strong, and some are
little and twiggy."

"Exactly: that is the difference, my lad. Well, can you see any more
difference in the shoots?"

I looked for some moments, and then replied:

"Yes; these big shoots are long and smooth and straight, and the little
twiggy ones are all over sharp points."

"Then as there is too much wood there, which had we better cut out.
What should you do?"

"Cut out the scrubby little twigs, and nail up these nice long shoots."

"That's the way, Grant! Now you'll know more about pruning after this
than Shock has learned in two years. Look here, my lad; you've fallen
into everybody's mistake, as a matter of course. Those fine long shoots
will grow into big branches; those little twigs with the points, as you
call them, are fruit spurs, covered with blossom buds. If I cut them
out I should have no plums next year, but a bigger and a more barren
tree. No, my boy, I don't want to grow wood, but fruit. Look here."

I looked, and he cut out with clean, sharp strokes all those long shoots
but one, carefully leaving the wood and bark smooth, while to me it
seemed as if he were cutting half the tree away.

"You've left one, sir," I said.

"Yes, Grant, I've left one; and I'll show you why. Do you see this old
hard bough?"

I nodded.

"Well, this one has done its work, so I'm going to cut it out, and let
this young shoot take its place."

"But it has no fruit buds on it," I said quickly.

"No, Grant; but it will have next year; and that's one thing we
gardeners always have to do with stone-fruit trees--keep cutting out the
old wood and letting the young shoots take the old branches' place."

"Why, sir?" I asked.

"Because old branches bear small fruit, young branches bear large, and
large fruit is worth more than twice as much as small. Gi