Page 10 



BETTER FRUIT 



Febniarv 



T 



Drive the Solution into the Trees 

 Under a Uniform Heavy Pressure 



The satisfactory results obtained with either the Alpha 

 Triplex or Alpha Duplex outfits are due primarily to the fol- 

 lowing unquestionable superior features of Alpha Sprayers: 



The Automatic Pressure Governor 



which insures safety, secures uniform pressure and elimi- 

 nates unnecessary wear and strain on both pump and 

 engine. No troublesome relief valve or diaphragm pres- 

 sure regulators are required on Alpha Sprayers. No 

 liquid is pumped except through the nozzles. 



The Perfect Power Plant 



The Alpha Gasoline and Distillate Engine, which is directly 

 geared to the pump, is a thoroughly first-class machine. 

 Built to stand up under continuous full load. Equipped 

 with built-in gear driven magneto. No batteries required. 

 Starts on the magneto without cranking. ISfek:: &t 



You can equip the Power Sprayer you now 

 have with an up-to-date reliable Alpha Engine. 

 Write us for Special Engine Catalogue.] 



JUpha Sprayers and Engines took the Gold Medal, the 

 highest award, at the Spokane Jtpple Show. 



The Alpha Re-Filler; the Flexible Suction Pipe connection between Sup- 

 ply Tank and Pump; the sturdy steel frame construction and accessa- 

 bility of Alpha Sprayers are details which would be decidedly to your 

 interest to investigate before buying any spraying equipment. 



DE LAVAL DAIRY SUPPLY CO. 



101 Drumm St., San Francisco, Cal. 



stock carried at Seattle and Portland, The Dalles and North Yakima 



For full particulars and name of nearest dealer, 

 fill in and mail the coupon. 



DE LAVAL DAIRY SUPPLY CO. 



San Francisco, Cal. 



Send me full description of Alpha Sprayers. 



I have acres of trees - 



Name 



Address 



Influence of Winter Pruning in Body Building 



Professor C. I. Lewis, Chief Division of Horticulture, 0. A. C, Before Conference of National Apple Show, Spokane, Wash. 



WINTER PHL'NING is a strong 

 factor in the handling of a suc- 

 cessful conunercial orchard. It 

 has much to do with the strength and 

 vigor of trees and can be made to be 

 an aid to fruit bearing. 



Let us first consider how trees may 

 be strengthened by winter pruning. 

 One of the first points to consider is 

 maintaining an equal development 

 among the main scaffold branches. A 

 fruitgrower may start with a tree hav- 

 ing five main scalt'old branches, but by 

 the time the trees are fifteen years of 

 age they may actually only have three, 

 as the other two branches may have 

 become so stunted that they are really 

 only side branches of some of the re- 

 maining three. This condition can be 

 avoided if in pruning the trees the 

 orchardist will suppress the stronger 

 branches by pruning them the most and 

 encourage the weaker branches by not 

 pruning them as severely. Thus he 

 will reduce the leaf area of the stronger 

 branches and encourage a larger leaf 

 area on the smaller branches, and this 

 will soon give him a balance and re- 

 store the weak branch to its proper 

 place in the tree's framework. The 

 growth which certain sections of the 

 tree will make (luring the year is cor- 

 related quite largely with the leaf area 

 exposed; while severe cutting of the 

 branch might force a longer growth, 11 



would not give the total area or en- 

 courage the diameter as much as would 

 the lighter pruning. In this, of course, 

 we are referring only to the relation 

 of one branch to the other on the tree, 

 and not to the tree as a whole. 



Second, the .grower should strive to 

 avoid weak forks which are caused by 

 two branches of equal strength issuing 

 from a common point. This weak con- 

 dition of the tree can be easily avoided 

 by always cutting one branch longer 

 than the other, encouraging one to 

 assume the role of a leader and the 

 other the function of a lateral. Of two 

 comi)eting branches, the one cut the 

 most grows the least. 



Again, by an intelligent use of win- 

 ter pruning one can control to a large 

 degree the proper development of lat- 

 erals. Spitzenbergs and Ortlcys, for 

 example, require heavy heading back, 

 as they often become rangy and pro- 

 duce few laterals, while Yellow New- 

 towns and Grimes, on the other hand, 

 tend to produce too many, and severe 

 heading only aggravates the condition. 

 Investigations conducted at the Oregon 

 Agricultural College seem to note that 

 winter pruning as compared with sum- 

 mer i)runing, on the whole, aids very 

 materially in causing a thickening of 

 the branches and, as we will see later, 

 this has an important bearing on the 

 spur development of a tree. 



It is practically recognized by all 

 orchardists that whenever a tree lacks 

 vigor, winter pruning will aid in re- 

 turning the tree to a vigorous condi- 

 tion. This should be combined, how- 

 ever, with proper maintenance of 

 moisture and soil fertility. 



As regards the effect of winter i)run- 

 ing on fruit-bearing development, it re- 

 sults largely by maintaining the vigor 

 of the tree in such a way that it can 

 give rise to strong spurs and buds. The 

 proper heading and thinning out of 

 branches will have much to do with 

 this healthy development. One should 

 study closely the bearing habits of 

 the tree. For example, those varieties 

 which generally do not bear on termi- 

 nals or on axilliary buds, but which 

 develoi) largely on spurs do not, as a 

 a class, tend to be heavy annual bear- 

 ers. These inchule such varieties as 

 Arkansas Black, Baldwin, Spitzenberg, 

 Newtown and Rome. How essential it 

 is, therefore, with this class that every 

 encouragement be given to bring about 

 strong spur development, for if w'e do 

 not, some of these varieties may only 

 bear once in three or four years. (Mher 

 varieties tend to bear on axillary buds 

 and terminals as well as on spurs, and 

 some tend to bear on very young spurs. 

 These include such well-known vari- 

 eties as Jonathan, Winesap, Ben Davis, 



