PROCEEDINGS OF THE ANNUAL MEETING. 329 



year's growth. It is better to keep within limits and moderation; and, 

 if there are too many buds, I should resort to thinning rather than to 

 excessive pruning. 



If the orchard has been neglected, rendering it necessary to remove 

 a great amount of wood at one time, I should mulch heavily the previous 

 winter, when the ground was frozen deeply, so as to retard root action 

 by keeping the frost in the ground as late as possible, that the early 

 growth might be made on the resources of the tree and assimilation be 

 provided for when roots begin to act. 



In regard to summer pruning, when foliage is performing its work, 

 I believe it is the greatest mistake. There may be a slight advantage in 

 the wood healing sooner, but it does not compensate for throwing the 

 tree out of harmony while in full growth, and pollen exhaustion is not 

 guarded against. 



Then in conclusion, let me admonish the orchardist that the secret 

 of his success lies in maintaining high breeding or fruiting powers in 

 the tree by restricting it to its ability, securing the growth early in the 

 spring, utilizing the fall months to mature the wood for winter, keeping 

 the branches so trained that the sun's rays shall render perfect assimila- 

 tion in every leaf, and lastly an abundant supply of food and thorough 

 tillage throughout the dry months of summer, that moisture may always 

 be present, and he may with confidence expect large annual yields of 

 the finest fruit. 



DISCUSSION. 



Mr. Kellogg demonstrated his method of pruning on some branches of 

 fruit trees furnished by President Morrill. 



Mr. Lyon: I quite agree with the chairman as to the value of the ideas 

 communicated in this paper, but if I understood it fully there is one 

 particular it did not touch, and was perhaps not intended to touch. 

 There are two purposes for which pruning must be done. One is the 

 growth of wood before the fruit season occurs; the other is the produc- 

 tion of the fruit. When a tree is first planted the object must first be 

 to secure a proper form of the tree, to secure wood growth, no matter 

 how rapidly, provided it is healthy; that, as I understand, was not the 

 purpose of this paper at all. I would like to impress upon all the idea 

 that pruning for securing proper form of tree and of a proper wood 

 growth in the right direction, must be upon an entirely distinct principle 

 from the pruning required for the production of fruit. The principle of 

 pruning must all be accepted upon the idea that the less pruning the 

 better, so far as the actual amount of growth is concerned; I can not 

 take away a single leaf from a tree without injuring the vigor and health 

 of that tree just so far as the one leaf exercises an influence; and the 

 more we take off the worse, so far as the actual amount of growth is con- 

 cerned; but we must train that growth in the direction we need, in order 

 to form a proper foundation for future purposes. It is this that I wish 

 to bring out, the fact that we need to prune first with reference to the 

 foundation of a proper head to the tree and the laj'ing of a foundation for 

 future usefulness afterward, and then the ideas that are so admirably 

 presented in the paper come fully into use. 

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