386 



THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



apples, and to the stunting effect of the apple mildew. The object of 

 the experiment was to demonstrate a more perfect system of mildew 

 control, and as such will not be discussed here, for the obvious reasons 

 that it is foreign to the subject. 



Trees Pruned in General Way. 



Previous to the beginning of the experiment this block of trees had 

 been pruned in the way customary to the district. Such pruning con- 

 sists in the general shaping of the tree with reference to cultivation and 



Fig. 93. — Tree pruned according to the standard method practiced in the district 

 for many years. (Photo by Geo. P. Weldon.) 



the removal of some brush to prevent too thick a growth. The suckers 

 were also prevented from growing, so that the larger branches had 

 become entirely bare of fruit wood for several feet above the main 

 trunk. The thinning out and shaping process referred to is frequently 

 not commenced until the undesirable branches have become quite large. 

 These big cuts heal slowly, if at all, and frequently are the starting 

 points of destructive wood rots. In this case some such cutting had 

 been done and the wood rot was already working in several trees. It 

 was evident, therefore, that the pruning must be confined to cutting 



