196 State Horticultural Society. 



claims; but at the same time ask, is the injury the result of prun- 

 ing, as a rule, or is it due to the way it is done? That fruit, as a 

 rule, colors well even in thickly-headed trees, needs no discussion, 

 but the second claim — that of injury to the tree by pruning — calls 

 for brief reference in passing. If a tree has been allowed to be- 

 come very bushy and then is severely thinned out, at a single prun- 

 ing, so that the trunk and long branches, hitherto shaded, are ex- 

 posed to intense sunshine, injury from "sun scald" may be ex- 

 pected; it is likely to occur mora or less wherever the sunshine is 

 verj^ intense. And if the branches are whacked off with an axe, 

 leaving rough wounds, or long stubs are left which cannot heal 

 over, of course, the vitality of the tree is endangered. Much of the 

 so-called pruning is done after this manner, and no one section of 

 the country monopolizes the method, either. But this is not prun- 

 ing — it is butchery. 



Occasional instances have been noted where "bleeding" has 

 resulted from the removal of limbs and indirectly has caused ser- 

 ious damage, but there is reason to believe that this occurs only 

 in case of trees that are in an unhealthy condition. In most cases, 

 I believe, that injury from pruning, if traced to its true cause, 

 would be found to be due to the way in which it was done, not be- 

 cause the operation itself is pernicious. Both reason and experi- 

 ence advise a moderate annual pruning, rather than an occasional 

 heavy one. With such methods it is rarely necessary to remove a 

 large limb. 



Furthermore, a tree that has been kept well pruned and the top 

 fairly open can be thoroughly sprayed with comparatively little 

 trouble, and the fruit picked more easily, more quickly, and, there- 

 fore, cheaper than if the tree top is too dense. These are mat- 

 ters of convenience, but they are worth consideration. 



There is one other fact, however, which is generally over- 

 looked, and I believe, fundamentally, it is the most important of all. 

 In a tree top there is a struggle among the branches for food and 

 light and air. The more branches there are, the more intense is 

 this conflict. It often becomes a struggle for very existence. (And 

 great it is in some of the orchards I have seen.) You have all 

 noticed, if you have been observing, thickly headed fruit trees 

 in which there were weak and dying or even dead branches, and 

 for no apparent reason. In many instances, it is for no other cause 

 save that the struggle among the branches has become so intense 

 that the stronger ones have simply choked out the weaker. A due 

 amount of pruning lessens the intensity of this struggle, and gives 



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