310 



PEAR GROWING IN CALIFORNIA. 



SECOND SEASON. 



The beginning of the second season should find the trees with a suffi- 

 cient number of lateral branches to form the scaffold or framework. In 

 cases where summer pruning has been carefully done there should be 

 somewhere near the proper number of branches to start with. This 

 number should be not less than three nor more than five. The latter is 

 the favorite number with most orchardists, however, just as large and 

 just as good a tree can be builded with a framework of three branches 

 as with five. The mean between these two figures is often chosen and 

 many orchards are started with four scaffold branches. A certain 

 amount of cutting back will again be necessary at the beginning of the 

 second season while trees are still dormant. This amount will depend 



Fig. 117. Too many branches forming the framework. 



largely upon the summer pruning. If this work was successful in check- 

 ing a rank growth very little cutting back may be necessary. If it was 

 done too early, or for some other reason failed to bring the desired 

 results, or no summer pruning was practiced, it may be necessary to cut 

 away considerable wood. Each scaffold branch should be left at least 

 10 or 12 inches long, the rest of the growth being sacrificed as super- 

 fluous. This heavy cutting back tends toward stockiness, which is much 

 to be preferred to slender, willow-like gowth. 



92 



