20 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



soms. Again, by that time the annual feeding roots of the trees 

 have begun to grow and there is more or less injury by plowing, 

 especially if it is deep. If plowing is done when the trees are 

 dormant there is no injury. We plow not later than March, 

 if we can help it. I do not use a plow in the older orchards but 

 a disc harrow. Disking so as to cut out not more than four 

 or five inches deep gives us equal results as deep plowing with a 

 two-horse plow. 



After plowing or disking, we use the spring-tooth cultivator, 

 which is our standard implement for summer tillage. What is 

 good tillage in an apple orchard? We are advised by most 

 people to harrow the apple orchard every week or ten days. I 

 think we should emphasize more than we do the fact that on 

 certain soils, which are naturally retentive of water, harrowing 

 once in three weeks may be as effective in conserving moisture 

 as harrowing every week on other types of soil. "Good tillage" 

 may be once a month or once a week, according to conditions. 

 It is a personal problem for each grower. 



Forming the head. I suppose there never have been two fruit 

 growers who have agreed on all points in the pruning of apple 

 trees ; so I shall merely tell you how I prune and why. This 

 shows a tree after it has made its first season's growth in the 

 orchard. The next picture shows this tree is pruned. I use 

 the modified central shaft system; that is, the leader is pre- 

 served for two or three years. I usually leave three or lour 

 limbs the first year, including the leader. All are cut back 

 heavily, the leader being left about a foot longer than the others. 

 The second year another whorl of limbs comes out from the 

 tip of this leader, making two sets of limbs on the trunk. Then 

 I take the leader out and cut back the others. Thereafter the 

 pruning consists simply of thinning out, 



I prefer the modified central shaft, taking the leader out after 

 the second year, because it gives eight or nine limbs to bear the 

 weight of fruit instead of three or four. When all the fruit is 

 borne on three or four limbs, as in the open center system, the 

 strain all comes on a very small part of the trunk and splitting 

 is likely to result. We must remember that our wood is more 

 brittle than it is in the west where the open center method is 

 practiced to advantage. They can develop their best fruit by 

 cutting out the center, and the trees do not break, but subject 

 our trees in Virginia to the same weight of fruit and they will 



