250 



Bulletin 69. 



severely when set. Except possibly in the case of peaches, I 

 think it generally unwise to trim the trees to a mere pole ; and 

 with peaches, I think it better to leave spurs with at least one 

 bud than to trim to a whip. There should be a number of strong 

 bright buds left upon the top, for these are the points where early 

 and active growth begins. These buds are upon strong branches. 



If they are removed, the weaker or half 



dormant buds upon the main trunk or low 



down in the crotches, must take up the 



work, and these start slowly and often 



feebly. 



There are two gener- 

 al methods of trimming 



the tops of young 



trees at planting time. 



One method cuts back 



all the branches to 



spurs of from one to 



three buds ; or some- 



times.particularlywith 



dwarf pears set when 



two years old, the side 



branches may be cut 



entirel}^ away, leaving 



onl)^ the buds on the 



main stem or trunk. 



The tree therefore 



"feathers out" the , 



. first season ; that is, it -'"-^i::<>--y y'^^^fii:^: 



/. Yearling Peach Tree, makes many small ■^" P^('-<^^'' t^^^^ Pruned, 



shoots along the main trunk. The following fall or spring, the 

 top is started at the desired height. Fig. i shows a peach tree 

 as received from the nursery, and Fig. 2 the same tree, trimmed 

 in this manner, ready for planting. This method is the one 

 generally best adapted to the peach, which is always set when a 

 year old ; but for other fruits, unless the trees are slender and 

 without good branchy tops, it is doubtful if it is the be.st practice. 

 If the bodies are thought not to be stiff enough, this manner of 



