1720 



Report of Farmers' Institutes 



the plants if frequently resorted to. The practice is neither com- 

 mon nor often necessary in this state except in the case of dwarf 

 apples and pears. 



PRUNE ACCORDING TO HABIT 



In prunini^, the habit of the tree must always be considered. 

 When trees have a spreading, drooping, or long, slender habit of 

 growth, prune to buds that point upward or to the center of the 

 plant. If the habit be upright and dense, cut to lower or outer 

 buds and so spread the compact top. The " off-year " habit of 

 bearing is intensified by spasmodic and severe pruning. Prune 

 biennial bearers rather conservatively and early. The heads of 

 all young trees may be left fairly dense, for when the trees come 

 in bearing, the weight of the crop opens the head ; meanwhile, by 

 saving the foliage you have obtained a larger trunk and more bear- 

 ing wood. 



'■^:.x}-^.^ ■'■■>■■ P^.--r::- ' 



i'^:- 







Fig. 127. A \YELL-nEADED Apple Tbee 



HEADING-IN 



Heading-in makes the top of a tree thicker and broader. There 

 are but few orchards or even trees that do not need more or less 



