178 Peach-Growing 



It will of course be observed that some of the objects as 

 stated are more or less incompatible with one another. There 

 is no contradiction, however, since it is not implied that the 

 attendant needs all exist in the same tree at the same time. 



WHEN TO PRUNE 



To attain most of the objects of pruning, it should be done 

 annually and during the dormant period, preferably in late 

 winter or early spring, just before growth starts, unless in 

 some regions it is found that bleeding from the wounds is 

 likely to occur. In such regions it should probably be done 

 in early winter. But conditions must be considered in each 

 case. If the pruning operations are very extensive, economic 

 requirements may make it necessary to prune throughout 

 the winter whenever the weather is suitable for men to work 

 in the orchard. If the fruit-buds are endangered during the 

 winter by adverse temperatures, it may be advisable to delay 

 pruning as much as labor and other conditions permit until 

 settled spring weather arrives. This is especially advisable 

 if heavy heading back of the previous season's growth is con- 

 sidered, since if a large proportion of the fruit-buds have been 

 killed, the terminal grow1:h still bearing living buds, and 

 which under normal conditions would be cut away, should be 

 left on the tree. 



A limited amount of summer pruning can also be done to 

 advantage under some conditions. 



SOME GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF PRUNING 



It is a generally recognized principle in all pruning that a 

 heavy reduction of the top of a tree when dormant, as in 



