KEPOBTS OF LOCAL SOCIETIES. 375^ 



this fact must largely determine the treatment of many kinds. The 

 Eamsdell Sweet grows almost as upright as a Lombardy Poplar. 



The Bailey Sweet is an irregular growth of long switches. The 

 Cooper's Early White is a stubby, ill-shaped mass of limbs, no two 

 alike, but delighting in a variety of obtuse angles. To attempt to 

 prune trees of these three varieties into the same shape would be a 

 grave mistake. 



Just after your trees are set determine what limbs are to be taken 

 entirely ofiF. Cut them an inch or two from the tree and let the stubs 

 remain till the next year, for the reason that a tree grows but little the 

 lirst year after setting, and if cut close to the tree the wounds would 

 check and not heal over. The stub left wili not check back to the 

 body of the tree, ^ext year cut off these stubs at pruning time, and 

 the clean cut is soon healed over, or so nearly so as to prevent injury. 



Trees so treated will require but very little cutting during the rest 

 of the years of their lives. Careful looking at a tree on all sides — per- 

 haps stepping around it two or three times, will reveal to you each 

 year what little cutting of limbs or rubbing off of buds is needed to 

 give it the right shape and balance, to prevent its growing into wrong 

 proportions and to keep the head properly open to the air and sun- 

 light. 



A good mechanical eye, some experience at pruning and common 

 sense are necessary in the nursery and in the orchard. 



« 



TIME OF PRUNING. 



My experience with young orchards began thirty-eight years ago, 

 with nursery stock twenty-nine years ago, and with the old orchard I 

 now have, in the spring of '81. I have experimented carefully and ex- 

 tensively in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas and now in Missouri. Except in the 

 case of a very old and neglected orchard, scarcely in any event will I 

 cut a fruit tree after it has been planted either in nursery or orchard 

 at any other time than during the first half of June. The nursery trees 

 or the orchard that has been rightly attended to, will seldom need to 

 have a cut made that is half an igch across. The tree is then full of 

 sap and of life. The mechanical pressure of the growth that is then 

 going on holds the wood together and prevents checking, and by the 

 time the second growth for the year is done forming almost all the 

 wood that was exposed will be covered in with bark. A very great many 

 many trees are spoiled by being pruned at other times. The surface of 

 the wound checks — the rain wets the little checks to the bottom — a 

 dry spell deepens the checks and next rain the water goes deeper. 



