148 Report of State Board of Horticulture. 



As to the manner in which the head may be formed there are several 

 important points to keep in view. And first, perhaps as to whether a 

 central leader shall be left, or all main branches trained to develop 

 uniformly. The latter has been the common practice in later years. 



Then, after this question of form is settled there comes the ques- 

 tion of branches or laterals. Not more than four, and usually three, 

 are quite enough for this purpose, especially if a central leader is 

 left. Too many branches make a bushy close top, while too few would 

 leave a top too open or ill-shapen. In cases without a central leader 

 the buds which are to form the chief branches of the head should be 

 left not closer than eight inches apart. When the tree has grown to 

 füll size there will then be no more open space between them than 

 is necessary to maintain a good strong union, a point that is too 

 often overlooked in the formation of the heads of all kinds of fruit 

 trees. 



When the few topmost buds of the young tree are left to form 

 the head they are usually so close together that in a few years the 

 forks of all are united and the result is a weakened union. There 

 is not sufficient distance upon the main stem for the several branches, 

 as they increase in size, to make a close union with it. At the end of 

 the first season's growth the young branches that are destined to form 

 the top should be cut back about one-half. From these stubs the next 

 year two chief secondary branches should be allowed to form upon each. 

 The following winter the young growth should again be cut back about 

 one-half. The third and fourth years the tree should receive similar 

 treatment. The fifth year, such branches as interlace should be 

 removed; irregulär, diseased, and malformed shoots should be cut back 

 or taken out, as the case may demand. If the trees are planted upon 

 deep, heavy, well-watered soll and continue to make excessive wood 

 growth it may be necessary to give them a summer pruning, which 

 Operation tends to check wood growth and induce the formation of fruit 

 buds. In the warmer, dryer sections, and where the soil contains con- 

 siderable sand, trees will begin to bear at five years or even earlier, 

 but in those sections where the climate is cool and moist and the soil 

 heavy and deep, trees may show a disposition to devote all their effort 

 to the production of wood until they are seven, eight, or even nine 

 years old. In such cases the check given by summer pruning is often 

 desirable, though it may be a question as to whether trees ought not 

 to be allowed to make their füll growth before being forced into fruit 

 production. Still, there is an advantage in hastening the time at which 

 the trees are brought into bearing, and, if not allowed to overbear 

 the first years of fruiting, they may complete their füll growth with- 

 out disadvantage to size or vigor, though the final growth will be made 

 more slowly than would be the case if the trees had not been hastened 

 into bearing. 



The need for future pruning of the orchard will be variable. Each 

 variety has a characteristic habit of growth. The pruning necessary 

 to make the growth conform to our chosen type will depend upon how 

 far apart are the "type" and the "habit." If the grower at the outset 

 has adopted the plan of studying the habits of the different varieties, 

 and has pruned for the purpose of getting the best results with the 

 natural form of the variety rather than for the purpose of making all 

 the trees conform to a common artificial ideal, then the work of pruning 

 will be greatly simplified and reduced. The cutting back of excessive 

 growths; the cutting out of interlacing, crossing, chafing, rubbing, and 

 diseased branches; and the shortening in, as an offset against winds, 

 will be the chief points to keep in view in all subsequent pruning 

 Operations. In the past, too little attention has been given to the study 



