230 NEBllASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



more apparent than at any other. The picker Is first impressed with the 

 fact that the heads of many trees are so thick that it is almost impossible 

 to get through to gather the fruit. He also notes that the shade is so 

 dense in places that sunlight cannot get to the fruit and that is is not 

 coloring as it should be. And with some varieties he notices that on 

 account of too much wood the tree has set more fruit than it can pos 

 sibly mature properly. If the season furnishes plenty of moisture the 

 fruit grows fairly large but the vigor of the tree is so impaired that the 

 following year no crop, or least a light crop, is produced. If the season 

 is dry the fruit does not grow large and much of it is too small to place 

 on the market and is good only for cider and vinegar. 



The proper way to prune an apple tree has been much discussed at 

 horticultural meetings in this section and many different arguments 

 have been advanced both for and against severe pruning. Some of the 

 pioneer apple men in the state have held that very little if any pruning 

 should be given apple trees, but this theory is now considered out of date 

 by all up-to-date growers. All agree that pruning is necessary to the 

 production of good apples but all do not agree on the severity of the 

 operation. A rule that we have repeated to many that we thought about 

 right to follow in pruning is: "Start when the tree is young and keep 

 all water sprouts cut out and thin out the limbs so that they do not rub 

 one against the other." This method will probably prolong the life of the 

 tree but we are now of the opinion that the value and quality of the 

 fruit grown on trees receiving such treatment does not equal that grown 

 on trees pruned more severely but carefully, provided all large wounds 

 are carefully painted and spraying is practiced to hold in check fungous 

 diseases of the tree as well as the fruit. 



We have studied orchards where very severe pruning has been prac- 

 ticed and compared the results with those where light pruning has been 

 the rule and have been making some tests ourselves of late and the more 

 we study the question the more we favor rather severe pruning. Last 

 A.ugust we visited two orchards in the southeastern part of the state, one 

 having had practically no pruning since planting while the other has been 

 pruned severely. These orchards are about the same age and are located 

 but seven miles apart on similar land. The severely pruned orchard has 

 had better culture than the other but both were sprayed the present 

 season. The bodies of the trees were about the same size in each orchard 

 but the tops of the pruned trees contained only from one-half to two- 

 thirds as much wood as the unpruned trees. There was no comparison be- 

 tween the fruit in the two orchards. The pruned trees were carrying a 

 full load of fruit well above the average in size and very even while the 

 unpruned trees were carrying numberless stunted apples that never will 

 be worth anything except for cider. 



Growers in the famous fruit districts of the west thin out and clip 

 back until the trees look like skeletons with not enough bearing wood to 

 produce anything, apparently, yet -they get large crops of fancy apples — 



