for September, 1920 



311 



Up-To-Date Pruning Practices 



RECENT experiments have thrown much Hght on 

 pruning, and recommendations are somewhat of a 

 modification of those put forth a few years ago. 

 Time was when a heavy annual heading back was highly 

 recommended, but recent results have shown us our error, 

 and now rigorous heading back is only to be recom- 

 mended with reservations attached. 



At planting time the young tree receives its first jirun- 

 ing, which consists in the removal of broken branches, the 

 elimination of cross shoots, the selection of the best placed 

 four or five branches to form the main part of the tree, 

 and the heading back of all remaining growths by about 

 one-half. Before this first pruning can be intelligently 

 performed the grower should decide, first, the height of 

 head he desires ; and second, the type of tree he washes 

 to grow. 



Types (if Trees. — The different types of trees that one 

 may grow may be roughly divided into three classes. 

 One is the pyramidal form, another is the open center, 

 and the one that is recommended for most conditions is a 

 combination of the two. The first, or pyramidal form, 

 w'hich consists of a central leader with branches radiating 

 from it, gives too large and too high a tree for our con- 

 ditions. It shuts out too much sunlight, thus making 

 the production of clean, well-colored fruit a more diffi- 

 cult task than it should be. The first -factor to consider, 

 therefore, in choosing the type of tree is balance between 

 sanitation and strength of tree. The central leader type 

 cannot be called a sanitary type of tree. The open center 

 tree, while possessing admirable sanitary qualities, does 

 not possess the strength of the central leader type, so 'hat 

 a combination of the two is more desirable. This combi- 

 nation type consists in allowing the central leader to grow 

 for the first few years until five or six good branches, 

 arranged in a whorl, and well spaced, can be selected to 

 form the framework of the tree. By well spacing these 

 scaft'old limbs the tree is stronger than if all the limbs 

 arise from a small area where they would each be pulb'ng 

 against the other, and would break down under heavy 

 winds or heavy loads of fruit. The central leader is not 

 allowed to grow to any great height, so that you have 

 a type with the combined advantage of the pyramidal 

 form and the open center, and with their oljjectious 

 eliminated. 



The Pruning Year b\ ]'ear. — Having decided on the 

 form our tree shall take we are now ready to follow ihe 

 pruning year by year. The first year, or the year the tree 

 is set out, it will be necessary to head back all branches 

 in order to give the roots an opportunity to get a Iiold 

 and to make our trees stocky instead of long and willowy. 

 In recent e.xperiments conducted by the experimental sta- 

 tion at Kentville. X. S., trees cut back when planted made 

 a growth of 4.82 inches the first year and 20 inches the 

 second, while trees not headed at all made a growth of 

 1 inch the first year and only 2.4 inches the second year. 

 Connnencing with the second year, the practice to be 

 ad()])ted will depend upon, first, the variety: and second, 

 the vigor of the tree. Sonic varieties are straggling and 

 vigorous growers, others are as vigorous but more shapely 

 in their habit, while others are slow growers. .\11 can 

 stand slightly diflierent treatment. An example of the 

 first type of tree is the King. The second type is repre- 

 sented by the Baldwin, while the Wagener is a typical 

 exanii)le of a slow grower. Kach of these three ty])cs 

 will require individual treatment. The King can be made 

 into a sha])ely tree by somewhat vigorous jiruning. 

 whereas for the Baldwin a moderate amount of shaping 



up will suffice, while the Wagener t\pe mav have to be 

 headed in occasionally in order to obtain sufficient annual 

 growth to make a shapely tree. 



.■iboiit Heading Back.~\ tree which is vigorously 

 headed back in Spring will probably produce a greater 

 length of wood that season than one which is not so 

 headed back, but the girth measurement of the tree not 

 headed back will be greater, so that, after the first year, to 

 cut back annually with the idea of obtaining stockiness is 

 a mistake. This "butchering" should only be resorted to 

 to allow of the development of a vigorous and shapely 

 tree. In general, then, the practice to adhere to during 

 the younger stages of a tree is to give it as little pruning 

 as will maintain a well-formed, vigorous tree. It has 

 been shown by experiment that trees cut back annually 

 do not fruit so early as those which receive very little 

 pruning, neither do they fruit so heavily. 



Points to Remember.— In cutting back a main branch, 

 and one of its strong-growing laterals, do not cut both to 

 the same length. Permit the main branch to retain the 

 lead, otherwise two branches of equal dimensions will 

 result which will produce a very weak crotch, a constant 

 •source of trouble. Whenever given the option of select- 

 ing either a branch growing at a sharp angle to its 

 parent or one growing almost at right angles, choose the 

 latter ; it will make a stronger crotch in future years. 

 Always cut back to a bud, cutting as close as possible 

 without injuring the bud itself. By paying attention to 

 the position of the bud one can do mu'ch to decide the 

 fornr the tree shall take. Study each variety you are 

 dealing with, and adopt a system 'most suited to its needs. 



It is not a question of how much pruning one can do, 

 but how little one can do and still retain the desired shape, 

 vigor and productiveness of the tree. — Canadian Horti- 

 culturist. 



If nature w'ants an oak, she works on the job a hun- 

 dred years, if she wants a squash, six months is suffi- 

 cient. — Charles W. Eliot. 



Blessed is he who has found his work ; let him ask no 

 other blessedness. He has a work, a life purpose; he 

 has found it and will follow it ! Labor is life ; from the 

 inmost heart of the worker rises his God-given force, the 

 sacred celestial life-essence breathed into him by Al- 

 mighty God ; from his inmost heart it awakens him to 

 all nobleness — to all knowledge, "self-knowledge,"' and 

 much else, so soon as work fitly begins. — Carlxle. 

 * * * 



Almost as deplorable as the other extreme of self- 

 conceit is self-disparagement, and more surely derogatory 

 and hampering it is to personal success. Never, neither 

 openly nor secretly, derogate your own powers or abili- 

 ties. Learn, on the contrary, to think well of yourself, 

 to believe in your own latent capacities, and to respect 

 your individual, (]od-given rights and titles to success 

 and hnpi)iness in life and all the good things which these 

 two terms suggest. Thus only can you become as a mag- 

 net toward the things you desire: thus only will you cease 

 to be dull and inefficient in your efforts and become cap- 

 able — able to achieve and accomplish the cherished de- 

 sires of your heart. Be kind to yourself — cultivate con- 

 fidence in your own ability to win. If you have no con- 

 fidence in yourself, how in the world can you reasonably 

 ex])ect others to have? — 0. Byron Copper. 



