470 Report of the Department of Hortici lture of the 



height of head. 



A decisive choice must be made at the very start as to the height 

 of the head. The choice should usually be for a low-headed tree 

 for the reason that such a tree is more easily sprayed and pruned 

 and the fruit more readily thinned and harvested. Crop and tree 

 are less subject to injury by wind; the trunk is less liable to injury 

 by sunscald, winter-killing and parasites; the top is more quickly 

 formed and the low-headed tree soonest bears fruit. No advantage 

 as to cultivation is gained by either method over the other, as a well 

 trained tree with a low head, in which the branches ascend obliquely, 

 permits the cultivator to come sufficiently near the tree. By low- 

 headed is meant a distance from earth to the first limb of from one 

 to two feet. The peach may be headed at the lower distance, the 

 plum, pear and cherry somewhat higher, while the apple should 

 approach the upper limit. 



FORM OF HEAD. 



Two general types of top are open to choice; the vase form or 

 open-centered tree, and the globe or close-centered tree. In the 

 first the frame-work of the tree consists of a short trunk surmounted 

 by four or five main branches ascending obliquely. In the close- 

 centered tree the trunk is continued above the branches, forming 

 the center of the tree. There are several modifications of each of 

 these. In this climate the open-headed, vase-formed tree is best 

 for the peach and the close-centered two-story tree is best for all 

 other fruits. Whatever the form, care should be taken that the 

 lowest branches are longest, so that the greatest possible leaf-surface 

 will be exposed to the sun and light. 



PRUNING FOR WOOD. 



For several years after planting, the peach alone excepted, fruit 

 trees need to be pruned only to train the tree. Just how much to 

 prune young trees depends upon the fruit, the variety, the soil and 

 the climate. Fruit-growers usually prune trees far too much, thereby 

 increasing the growth of wood and delaying the fruiting of the plant. 

 If trees were originally well selected all that is needed is to remove 

 an occasional branch which starts out in the wrong place — the 

 sooner done the better — and to take out dead, injured or crossed 

 limbs. The peach, some plums and some pears may need heading-in, 

 and a weak or sickly tree may require somewhat more severe pruning. 



If a tree is bearing many small fruits, if the top contains dead or 

 dying branches, or if the seasonal growth is short and scant, it may 

 be taken for granted that the tree lacks vigor, or, in old trees, is 

 passing into decrepitude. Such trees may usually be rejuvenated 

 by judicious pruning. In professional terms the tree must be 



