TIIK l\ION'niI,N' RIUJjKTIN. 99 



a iiidsl scNci'c 1(i|» pniiiiiii:'. so li('av.\' in I'act Itial the cin)]) was cul 1o 

 45 per cent of normal. The second year i1 rose only to 80 per cent, but 

 tlie Hiird year tlie yield was 1(!S per cent oP nor-nial (|nantity, and of 

 such a superioi' (|ualily that i1 was pi'obahly e(|ual to l")!) [X'l* cent of the 

 previous normal value. The jx-oduction has sleadilx increased to 

 125 per cent of the original average crop; but now, after an interval of 

 thirteen years since prunins:. the fruit sijces are growinf; smaller an<l 

 the percentage of ripe.s increasing — premonitions of the day when 

 another heavy pruning may be necessary. 



In the spring of 1914 the performance of much of the Limoneira 

 orchard was so unsatisfactory, with small sizes, ripes, and other evi- 

 dences of decadence, all calling for correction, that we undertook care- 

 fully to investigate the merits of heavy pruning as a last resort, and to 

 determine in relation to it: when it may be done with least sacrifice to 

 present crop; when with least sacrifice to the following year's crop; 

 what effect it might have on the percentage of ripes and small sizes; 

 whether one can prune at such a season that the first succeeding crop 

 Avill mature its fruit for the summer market, thereby compensating 

 for loss in quantity by increased value ; what type of cuts should be 

 necessary and best suited to the purpose, and also how much cutting to 

 do ; what the expense would be, and how difficult the task of training 

 men for it ; and what precautions to observe in an orchard-wide policy 

 of heavy pruning, should this seem advisable later. 



In brief, our method was to reduce the mean radius of the tree very 

 little, but to remove all cross limbs, superfluous leaders and out-hanging 

 corners, and relieve top-heavy boughs by heavy concealed cuts, avoiding 

 as much as possible "heading" and the leaving of "holes" in the sides 

 of the tree. The result was a sacrifice of perhaps 60 per cent of the 

 foliage and 30 to 40 per cent of the fruit spurs — wood less than one-half 

 inch in diameter. For the experiment we selected the block of Lisbon 

 orchard most in need of rejuvenation. All rows were picked just before 

 pruning. Row" 1 was reserved as a check to be given our customary 

 prunings; row- 2 was pruned in May; row 3 in June; row 4, a check; 

 then July and August and another check, and so on : one row for each 

 month for twelve successive months, with eight check rows so arranged 

 that each pruned row had a check on one side of it. 



Eecords of production w^ere kept beginning January 1, 1914. showing 

 monthly yields from each of the twenty rows to be included in the 

 experiment. Taking the calendar year a.s the crop year, the accompany- 

 ing chart shows the percentage of crop harvested from each row dui'ing 

 the year when the pruning w^as done. It also illustrates graphically the 

 percentages of crop harvested during the next crop year. To obtain 

 these percentages all yields were compared with the corresponding year's 

 average yield from all check rows taken together as the noi-mal 100 per 

 cent yield, and reduced to the basis of pounds per bearing tree. By 

 arranging the first year's record at the left of the chart and the second 

 year's record at the right we see at a glance the blank areas which, taken 

 together, show the combined percentage of crop lost during the two crop 

 years. 



To be complete, these data should extend over a three to four year 

 period in order to include at lea.st one full crop following the years of 

 sacrifice. But without this complete data some tentative conclusions 

 may be drawn as to the season avIkii heavy pruning may be done with 



