40 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



Pruning. — It is quite a task to thoroughly renovate an or- 

 chard long neglected, antl it cannot be accomplished in a day; 

 still, it is often surprising to see how quickly it will respond to 

 a systematic method of treatment. Let us consider the matter 

 of pruning. Most of the old orchards were planted with the 

 idea of cropping underneath, — consequently the lower brancnes 

 were pruned ofT, so that we have long trunks and high tops. 

 Under present day conditions we want the reverse, — low down, 

 spreading trees, so that they may be more easily and cheaply 

 sprayed, the fruit more economically harvested, and the danger 

 from high winds greatly lessened. As most of these old or- 

 chards have been pruned up,, our problem is how to get them 

 pruned down. I have tried all methods, from cutting back tc 

 mere stubs in extreme cases, to simply heading in the more 

 upright center branches. Where there is a severe infestation 

 from scale and where the trees have been pruned up so there 

 is an extremely long trunk, this radical method, with various 

 modifications to suit different conditions, is advisable. In fact, 

 in such cases, severe heading in is absolutely essential, as it is 

 practically impossible to eradicate the scale in the high tops of 

 old trees. The amount of heading in a tree can withstand will 

 surprise one who has never tried it. I have cut off from 

 twenty to twenty-five feet of the top in extreme cases and 

 branches from eight inches to a foot in diameter. Gene-rally 

 it is advisable to cut back the top the first year only a part of 

 the distance it should untimately be reduced to, not leaving the 

 center of the tree open to the too direct rays of the sun. T'lis 

 cutting will cause water sprouts to start out on the limbs or 

 trunk lower down and after a year's growth, these have a ten- 

 dency to fill in the space. The top can then be reduced ai ori- 

 ginally planned, the water sprouts thinned out and headed in. 

 In a great many cases, however, all that is needdl to form a 

 low-down top is to head in the main center uuright branche.-;. 

 Check the growth here and it goes to the sides. After a little 

 experience in forming the head, one can get the graceful droop- 

 ing appearance in two years' growth, where only this sm.all 

 amount of heading in is required. Old trees long neglected are 

 generally a tangled mass of branches ; cut out all dead or can- 

 kered limbs, take out the worst of the cross branches, but do 

 not attempt to completely shape the tree in one year. In all 



