J9I9 



Pruning the Walnut Tree 



Continued from page 22. 



dency. With a little care, leaving only 

 branches that have good unions, from 

 three to five in number, a very satis- 

 factory head can be made. 



^^^lere trees are making a rapid 

 growth I would advise letting two or 

 three branches grow along the trunk 

 below those intended for the head. 

 These will have a tendency to increase 

 the size of the lower part of the trunk 

 and absorb part of the growth that 

 ■would otherwise go into the top 

 branches, causing them to grow too 

 rapid and droop. Care must be exer- 

 cised in this work in regard to how 

 many branches should be left. In head- 

 ing about 600 young trees last summer 

 this rule was followed. The first time 

 over, about June 1, about three to five 

 branches were left; a month later some 

 of these were removed if the top was 

 not making growth enough; again 

 about August 1 others were removed 

 where the growth showed any weak- 

 ness. On the last two trips about 75 

 per cent of the number first left were 

 removed. Had the season not been so 

 dry it would not have been necessary 

 to remove so many branches. All of 

 the remaining branches should be cut 

 off during the dormant season. The 

 branches that are to form the future 

 top should be cut back to about thirty 

 inches. 



Last season during the walnut tour 

 a study was made by several of the 

 center-leader tree. The conclusion 

 reached in general was that this type 

 is very good, if not the best, for a wal- 

 nut tree. Last season I trained several 

 hundred young trees with a single shoot 

 up to eight or twelve feet. It is my pur- 

 pose to train these into center-leader 

 trees having two or three sets of from 

 three to four branches, one above the 

 other, instead of one set. These should 

 be headed a little higher, as the lower 

 set of branches will grow out more 

 nearly horizontal when there are more 

 branches above them, making very 

 nmch stronger unions than when the 

 branches come out at sharper angles. 

 It may be necessary to nail an extension 

 on the stake to support the top the first 

 season. This type of tree requires 

 some extra labor but i^ by far the 

 strongest when once established. 



Sharp angle forks should always be 

 avoided in the structure of the walnut 

 tree, and these forks should be cut out 

 at almost any cost in shaping the tree, 

 as sooner or later they will surely split 

 down and may cause the loss of the 

 whole tree. Hut if these forks are 

 found on ti'ces too large to remove one 

 branch without much damage they can 

 be greatly strengthened by boring a 

 five-sixteenths or three-eighths hole 

 through both branches above the forks 

 and inserting a piece of soft steel or 

 iron the same size a little longer than 

 the distance between the outside of the 

 two lunbs. The ends should protrude 

 about an inch, and with a little care 

 can be clinched down without doing 

 much damage. These will grow over 

 and greatly strengthen the fork. In 

 larger trees heavier bolts can be used. 



BETTER FRUIT 



Good Bye 

 Relief Valve 



With Your Load 

 of Troubles 



Page 25 



IMPORTANT SPRAYER IMPROVEMENTS 



The elimination of the rehef valve on the new Myers Sprayer by 

 means of an automatic pump that ceases operation when desired 

 maximum pressure is reached and resumes when pressure drops 

 to normal, is a great forward step in Sprayer construction. It saves 

 Orchard Tillage Tools ^^ar and tear on pump and engine. 



We made careful study of the needs of 

 the Northwestern Orchardist and have 

 selected our lines accordingly. We sell 

 Cutaway Harrows 

 Light Draft Harrows 

 Cyclone Weeders 

 Lean Disc and 

 Spring Tooth Harrows 

 Planet Jr. Riding and 

 Garden Cultivators 

 Send for Free Catalogs 



Saves fuel and prevents damage that occurs 

 when a relief valve fails to relieve. Myers 

 Sprayers have many other superior features, 

 including a very strongly built frame. We sell 

 Myers Sprayers as you want them, with or 

 without engine or truck. The best combination 

 however is The Myers Outfit, equipped with 

 one of our dependable Stover Spray Engines 

 and mounted on one of our short turn steel wheel 



trucks. Send for circulars. 



We carry the full line of 



Walnut trees are much more likely to 

 develop weak forks than fruit trees, 

 and require the greatest care up to four 

 or five years old. The next live years 

 very little care will be needed, but from 

 about the tenth year some pruning 

 should be done to open up the tree to 

 let in more light and give better air 

 circulation as well as to dispose of 

 surplus wood. Many orchards in the 

 Northwest have reached a stage where 

 they have ceased to bear good crops of 

 nuts owing to crowding and lack of 

 pruning. Walnuts do not need pruning 

 every year like fruit trees, but they 



need some pruning as they grow older. 

 Many trees grow small nuts if left to 

 grow their own way as they grow older 

 or begin to crowd. It was plainly evi- 

 dent in some of the older orchards last 

 season that the lack of proper pruning 

 caused their owners a loss of several 

 thousand dollars. In California for 

 several seasons past a regular system 

 of pruning has been practiced. No 

 doubt this practice will soon be taken 

 up here as the orchards grow older. 

 The walnut has no characteristics of 

 the ordinary fruit tree and needs a sys- 

 tem of pruning all its own. 



