44 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



DISCUSSION. 



A Member — How tall do you form the top of yonr tree? 



Mr. Rose — That is owing to how you are situated. If the tree is in 

 a valley, where the snow is heavy, I prune a little higher than on a hill. 

 I like to have the head of a tree not over eighteen inches from the 

 ground. 



Mr. FaiTand — What about the height of an apple orchard? 



Mr. Rose — The low-headed tree is best. There is no reason why we 

 should drive a wagon through an orchard under the trees. It costs dol- 

 lars to climb ladders. T have a great many trees that are headed low 

 — I would prefer them to be not over sixteen to eighteen inches from 

 the ground. I believe it is a mistake to do otherwise. I would head 

 the tree right down to the ground. 



A Member — What about cherries? I have a Windsor cherry orchard, 

 twelve or fifteen years old, planted sixteen feet apart, but they are now 

 very much crowded. There are limbs two or three inches through — 

 would there be any danger of cutting these big limbs out? 



Mr. Rose — No, sir. I have the same thing and I would cut them all 

 off and trim back the tops. It costs money to climb those trees. 



A Member — How high a step ladder should be used in haiTesting 

 peach trees? 



Mr. Rose-^Your trees ought not to be so high but what a six-foot 

 ladder would be long enough — ^there is no need of growing trees so high. 



A Member — Regarding the peach trees that have been pruned too high 

 that were set last spring and the limbs have come out — will it form a 

 new top if you cut it off? 



Mr. Rose — No, it won't form a new top — the peach will not. 



A Member — How^ do you trim sour cherries? 



Mr. Rose — Hoav old are your cherries? 



A Member — Four or five years old. 



Mr. Rose — You must go in there and make a general thinning out — 

 take out the cross-limbs so the light and air can get through. 



A Member — I have an old orchard with low heading, some so low 

 that we have to get on our knees to get the apples on the under side. 

 Now, in planting an orchard of one thousand trees we find that the trees 

 we got from the nursery have their limbs all on top. How are we to 

 get them down to the ground? 



Mr. Rose — You cannot do that with two-year-olds, but with one-year- 

 olds it is all right. 



A Member — We set out an orchard which is now three years old and 

 half of that orchard had the limbs clear down to the ground when set 

 out. We ordered these trees from the nursery not to be trimmed when 

 delivered. They were glad to do this. And in this connection I may 

 diverge and say a word about what Mr. Rose referred to, the cut worai 

 that many are troubled with. The cut womi is very easy to control. The 

 worm works early in the spring, shortly after planting time. Get a 

 little bran and mix enough molasses to sweeten the bran and then add 

 enough Paris green to color it well, then walk through your orchard and 

 put a handful around the butt of each tree and you will have no trouble 

 with cutworms. 



A Member — I have had some trouble with these, both with fruit trees 



