194 The Canadian Horticulturist. 



quantity of manure necessary for the trees. In older orchards where there is 

 no cropping, the annual growth of the new wood is the best guide in applying 

 manure. 



As a general fertilizer, nothmg is better than barnyard manure, but it should 

 be withheld where the new growth is excessive, or where the wood growth is at 

 the expense of fruit. 



Unleached wood ashes are a specific fertilizer for fruit trees, as they contain 

 all the inorganic elements necessary in producing both tree and fruit. Unlike 

 barnyard manure, they tend to promote fruitfulness rather than excessive wood 

 growth, and may safely be applied at any time. 



In applying fertilizers of any kind, never bank them about the trunk of a 

 tree, but spread them evenly all over the ground as far as the roots extend. 



Pruning. — One of the first things to be considered in pruning a young 

 orchard is the height at which the heads should be started. Some prefer low 

 heads and others high heads. Either extreme should be avoided. From four 

 to four and a-half feet is a convenient height for apple trees. To have them all 

 alike, cut them back when young to the desired height. Three branches are 

 enough to leave to start the head. Space these evenly, and direct new growth 

 whenever necessary by cutting back to a bud pointing in the direction you wish 

 the new branch to take. The ideal pruning consists rather in directing growth 

 than in cutting out what is grown. Thin out the new shoots as may be required 

 to keep the head from becoming too crowded. Cut out any branches that cross 

 or rub each other, and keep the top symmetrical by cutting back branches grow- 

 ing too fast in any particular direction, as they are often inclined to do on the 

 leeward side. 



If an orchard is pruned regularly every year, as it should be, there need be 

 no necessity for cutting out large limbs, and the pruning at any time will be 

 very light. Light pruning may be done at any time during the summer, but for 

 the general, annual pruning, this had better be done early in spring before the 

 growth starts. 



Protecting the Trunks from Borers. — One of the most destructive insects to 

 newly transplanted trees is the flat-headed apple tree borer. The mature insect 

 is an active little beetle, nearly half an inch long, which lays its eggs on the bark 

 of the trees, generally on the south-west side. When the egg hatches, the larva 

 eats its way through the bark where it feeds upon the sapwood, sometimes entirely 

 girdling the tree. When full grown it is a pale, yellow, footless grub, over half 

 an inch long, with a large flattened head. The presence of these pests in in. 

 fested trees may readily be detected by the blackened and deadened appearance 

 of the bark over the parts where the borers are at work. 



When borers get into a tree there is no other remedy than cutting them 

 out with a sharp knife, or killing them in their burrows with a stout wire. But 

 prevention is better than remedy, and the injury from borers can easily be pre- 

 vented. To do so, wash the trunks and larger branches with a mixture of soft 



