January, 1922 



BETTER FRUIT 



Page Fifteen 



push out, the reserve food and moisture is 

 used until the root feeders can be formed 

 to supply more. This will explain how 

 newly planted trees may start into growth 

 with apparent vigor, only to die later when 

 the reserve food and moisture is exhausted. 

 By cutting back the top further and thus 

 reducing the number of buds, this supply 

 is conserved and thus the tree is tided over 

 the critical time until the root feeders are 

 formed. 



The heavier cutting back to twenty-five 

 inches will also stimulate a more vigorous 

 face. This is of .prime importance in aid- 

 ing the tree to resist the attacks of borers 

 growth by reducing the tissue building sur- 

 and to heal its wounds received in cultiva- 

 tion. 



The severe stubbing back of the branches 

 after the first season's growth will stimu- 

 late a very vigorous growth the following 

 year, forcing more buds into growth to pro- 

 duce more laterals along the main stem 

 from which a better selection of scaffold 

 branches can be made. 



FIRST Year — As has already been said 

 this pruning is largely stubbing back. 

 Remove all growth below fifteen inches 

 and leave the upper shoot to a height of 

 thirty-five inches a.s a leader. Generally 

 two buds are left per stub, not for the pur- 

 pose of getting two shoots, but to insure the 

 growth of at least one. In fact, only one is 

 desired from each stub. Some may ques- 

 tion the advisablity of stubbing back good 

 strong shoots which are apparently well 

 located for the lower scaffold branches. 

 Why not leave these fourteen or sixteen 

 inches long, removing the others and grow- 

 ing the upper scaffold branches from the 

 leader the following season? The reasons 

 are: First, to cut back reduces the number 

 of buds and increases the vigor, thus insur- 

 ing a growth from all the buds on the 

 leader and stubs so that the best possible 

 selection can be made. Second, they might 

 be poorly located with refernce to those 

 scaffold branches produced the following 

 year. Third, they would have the lead and 

 might tend to draw too heavily on the sap 

 supply and stunt the j^ounger upper 

 branches. Stub back and give each lateral 

 an equal start. If the tree has made a 

 heavy growth the stubs may be left six or 

 eight inches if by so doing sufficient wood 

 is removed to stimulata a growth from 

 every bud left. 



Some orchardists practice stripping off 

 the leaves in the spring below fifteen inches 

 on the trunk to force stronger growth into 

 the shoots above. This is not advisable. 

 There being no object where stubbing back 

 is practiced, and the first year every leaf 

 should be left to encourage growth and root 

 development, and to aid in the protection 

 against sunscald. However, where screen- 

 ing is necessary for protection against 

 borers, rabbits, squirrels or scunscald the 

 lower buds are rubbed off. 



Second Year Pruning — This is the most 



important pruning. The future of the tree, 

 its strength and efficiency, rests largely with 

 the proper choice of scaffold branches. It 

 is far more important to have them issue at 

 different levels than to balance the tree by 

 growing from opposite sides. Their growth 

 will occupy the vacancies later, but their 

 position on the trunk never changes. Re- 

 move all growth except the selected laterals 

 which are headed back in accordance with 



the vigor and growth of the tree, leaving 

 them twelve to eighteen inches long. If 

 the tree has made a weak, insufficient 

 growth not permitting a good selection, 

 stub back as before. 



By cutting to certain buds one can in- 

 fluence the direction of the growth. The 

 last buds tend to grow in the general direc- 

 {Continued on fage 20) 



ALGEMEENE VRUCHTEN IMPORT 

 MAATSCHAPPY 



(General Fruit Import Company) 



Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Cologne 



head-office A^nsterdam, Tel. adr. "Alvrima" 

 Capital Florins 3,000,000— 



We solicit kindly consignments 

 of apples. 



References :- 



Irving National Bank, New York 



Guaranty Trust Company, New York. 



Roseburg Man Doubles 

 Yield of Prune Orchard 



Frank Brown of Roseburg, Oregon, dried 4^2 tons of prunes 

 from an acre and a half of orchard. This was more than double 

 his usual yield and was due to the fact that he used 



Nitrate of Soda 



Eighty per cent of the successful prune growers and loganberry 

 growers of Oregon and Washington use Nitrate of Soda. 



Loganberries need Nitrogen 



Carl Aspinwall of Gervais, Oregon, from eight acres, harvested 

 this year 43 tons of loganberries. He used 400 pounds of 

 Nitrate of Soda and 250 pounds of Super-Phosphate, per acre. 

 Chemical and field tests by experts of our Agricultural colleges 

 and progressive growers show that nitrogen is the one element 

 our soils need — that the application of Nitrate of Soda produces 

 vigor, increases yields, and gives large specimens of fruit. 

 Nitrate of Soda is the quickest available and most economical 

 form in which to buy nitrogen — 15 per cent nitrogen equals 

 18 per cent ammonia. 



Order early. Write or wire 



THE NITRATE AGENCIES 



805 Hoge Building Seattle, Washington 



