"in the persistent ability of a 4,000-year-old tree to shut up shop almost everywhere throughout its stem in a very dry year, and faithfully to reawaken to add many new cells in a favorable year." ...

With apples, you should aim to have a single fruit for every half-foot of branch. In practical terms, this means leaving one fruit on every spur (that's the stem on which the tree's blooms appear).

When pruning it's essential to keep your secateurs sharp. Blunt tools can cause branches to tear, leading to wounds on the tree that will attract disease. It's also important to have a pruning saw ...