EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 



369 



pruner is, at best, very slow, and the cutting cannot be done as precisely as 

 with other tools. 



Wcund Dressi7igs — It is considered good practice to paint wounds larger 

 than one and one-half to two inches in diameter with a good white lead to 

 which some kind of antiseptic has been added. An ounce of cyanide of mer- 

 cury or bichloride of mercury may be dissolved in a little turpentine and 

 thoroughly mixed with a gallon of the paint. A charcoal, brush, grafting 

 wax, such as is used in bridge grafting, makes an excellent covering. See 

 Michigan Experiment Station Circular No. 14, Revised. 



TYPES OF TRAINING FOR FRUIT TREES 



Fruit trees may be developed 

 styles of training during the non 

 but we are chiefly concerned with 

 the three more commonly ac- 

 cepted systems. 



The Central Leader or Pyra- 

 midal Tree system has long been 

 in use, and since it is the easiest 

 to develop, it will receive first con- 

 sideration. The central branch 

 is allowed to ascend year after 

 year with little or no cutting back, 

 while the lateral scaffold or main 

 branches are kept somewhat 

 shorter by greater or less head- 

 ing. As a i-esult, the lateral 

 branches are considerably smaller 

 than the central axis, and crotches 

 are formed which seldom split. 

 Strong trees result, but it is very 

 difficult to keep them opened 

 sufficiently to permit light to 

 penetrate to the inner parts, and 

 the tops usually become too high 

 to permit orchard operations to 

 be conducted economically. This 

 system is not favored by many 

 present-day fruit growers. 



The Open Center Type of tree 

 usually has three to five scaffold 

 branches well distributed around 

 the trunk and extending outward 

 and upward from it to form the 

 framework. The leader or up- 

 right branch is removed, usually 

 the first year. These three to 

 five main branches are cut back 

 to approximately the same height 

 after the first season's growth, 



according to any one of several different 

 bearing, vegetative, or formative period, 



Figure 7. Note that the three main scaffold 

 branches were headed at approximately the same 

 height (shown at x) in this open-center type, thus 

 resulting in equal growth and weak crotches. 

 Later, a pocket or cavity will develop which will 

 collect water and dirt and eventually result in heart 

 rot of the trunk. 



