MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 357 



pest largely depends upon the warm sun to hatch out their eggs, and 

 shielding the tree thoroughly will in a great measure avoid this. 



It is nature's way, if the tree is growing la an open place, to send 

 out lateral branches along its stem, these serve to strengthen it, as the 

 tree grows and spreads out these become useless and are taken off if 

 they do not die of their own accord. Some pruning can be done dur- 

 ing the summer if the tree is making a vigorous growth, by rubbing off 

 superflous shoofs, or pinching back the ends of others, but usually the 

 principal part of the pruning should be done in the fall or winter, 

 when the tree is dormant, and not frozen. It is best to do a little 

 summer pruning and a little winter pruning every year, rather than a 

 considerable amount at a time and this less often. A fruit tree should 

 be low-headed, evenly balanced, with as few forks as possible, and 

 sufficiently open to admit air and light freely through the branches, 

 and the pruning that best secures this is the one to be followed. 



N. J. Shepherd, Eldon, Mo. 



Some Fundameiitals in Pruning'. 



The apple tree grows with a superabundance of limbs. The hard- 

 ness and vitality of most varieties enables the cultivator to prune and 

 train according to his particular taste, or to fit various requirements, 

 the divergence not exceeding certain limits. So we see orchards pru- 

 ned to low-heads and widely branching tops, while another's taste pre- 

 fers the taller tree, and both succeed in their desire. 



As L. F- Abbott says in the New York "Tribune," there are fallacies 

 in pruning which, if avoided, make the difference between success and 

 failure. As a matter of fact, the training given the young tree the first 

 five years of its life determines the form and largely the future use- 

 fulness of the tree. 



The young tree in the nursery requires but little, if any, pruning 

 for the first two years. 



While in the nursery rows the side limbs contribute to the growth 

 of the stock. Nature provides that the young tree should grow with 

 a perfect taper from the ground up. Too early pruning destroys this 

 symmetry. When the lower limbs of a young tree are early removed 

 and the sap driven into the top, the tree will not sustain an upright 

 position. It becomes unbalanced — thrown out of natural symmetry. 

 The top increases faster than the trunk, which becomes too weak to 

 support it. 



