210 



Peojch-Gr owing 



orchard, as sometimes happens. An injured tree may start 

 into growth in the spring, but the foliage as it develops will 

 be small, below normal in quantity; and the tree shows a 

 general lack of vitality. As this condition may become 

 evident only as the season progresses, its early detection is 

 frequently impossible. 



PRUNING TO RENEW THE TOPS 



When the fruit-buds are all killed either by excessively low 

 winter temperatures or spring frosts so that trees fail to bear 



a crop of fruit, it 

 offers an opportunity 

 to rejuvenate them 

 and develop a new 

 supply of fruit-bear- 

 ing wood . A method 

 of pruning to accom- 

 plish this is suggested 

 in Figs. 14 and 15, 

 which show a tree, 

 respectively, before 

 and after pruning. 

 The tree is fairly 

 vigorous with only 

 a limited amount of 

 bearing wood in the 



Fig. 14. — A peach tree in need of corrective interior. By head- 

 pruning to stimulate the growth of strong fruit- jj^„ back modcratclv 

 bearing wood in the center. ° . *' 



and removmg some 

 of the small interior side branches which are probably 

 too weak to produce either fruit or in turn fruit-bearing 



