PRUNING THE TREES 



and a good one. It may sometimes be used to 

 influence the bearing year of trees like the Bald- 

 win, which have an alternate bearing habit, 

 but this is a more theoretical than practical 

 method. Fruit bearing is determined more by 

 the habitual performance of the tree than by 

 any method of pruning, and this is especially 

 true of old trees. It Is easier to Influence young 

 trees. Conditions which tend to produce heavy 

 wood growth are unfavorable for the formation 

 and development of fruit buds. A quiescent 

 state is a better condition for this. 



Reasons for Pruning. — With these funda- 

 mental principles In mind we may safely outline 

 a method of pruning an apple tree. As the de- 

 sired end is different so will the method of prun- 

 ing a young tree differ from that of an old one. 

 There are five Important things for which to 

 prune a young tree, namely: 



1. To preserve a proper balance between the 

 top and root at the time of setting out. This 

 usually means cutting off the broken and the 

 very long roots to a reasonable length and cut- 

 ting back from one-half to two-thirds of the 

 growth of the previous season. 



2. To make the top open in order to admit 

 the sunlight freely. In the humid climate of the 



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