PRUNING ORCHARDS. 



URING several years the Illinois Ex- 

 perimental Station has been con- 

 '■ ducting experiments in pruning- 

 fruit trees. These investigations 

 show us that the pruning of apple trees is 

 too little practiced by fruit growers gener- 

 ally. It seems well, therefore, to say a 

 few words on the subject at the present 

 time. 



Pruning is the removal of superfluous 

 branches, thus allowing a free circulation of 

 air in the tree tops ; and admitting light to 

 the remaining inner branches of the tree. 

 Its object is simply that of securing more 

 and better fruit. When trees are left to 

 themselves the branches crowd one another 

 and do not give sufficient room and sunlight 

 and air for the developing of fruit on the 

 inner branches. Moreover, fruit which is 

 developed on unpruned trees can not be 

 readily protected from apple scab and cod- 

 ling moth, as well as other diseases and in- 

 sects. The cost of spraying is much less in 

 point of time and material saved on trees 

 which are judiciously pruned. Cultivation, 

 too, is carried on with greater ease and effec- 

 tiveness in the pruned orchard. Harvest- 

 ing of fruit also is greatly facilitated in those 

 trees which are properly pruned. 



The ideal pruning is that which com- 

 mences in the nursery rows when the trees 

 are a year old and continued each year un- 

 til the trees have served their usefulness in 

 the orchard where they have borne fruit for 

 many years. It is therefore an operation 

 which commences with the nurseryman, and 

 it is his office to see that the trees are sym- 

 metrical and with limbs at the proper dis- 

 tance from the ground. The best, and in 

 fact the common way with the majority of 

 nurserymen is to remove, just after they 

 have started, the buds which are found be- 

 low the point where the head of the tree is 



to be and other undesirable places. This is 

 readily and quickly done by rubbing off 

 these young shoots or buds with the hands. 

 It may be necessary to repeat this operation 

 during the first one or two seasons. The 

 second season when the trees are trans- 

 planted remove all superfluous limbs close to 

 the body of the tree with a sharp knife, cut- 

 ting back the remaining three to six fully 

 one-half the previous year's growth. This 

 is the time when the orchardist should re- 

 ceive the tree, yet it is common practice to 

 wait until the plant has attained its second 

 or third year. In any case, the year the 

 trees are finally set in the orchard they 

 should be well headed in, cutting to a bud, 

 which on upright varieties will be left on the 

 inside. This bud is to form the new limb 

 and take its place with its fellows in form- 

 ing the main branches of the tree. If one 

 desires higher headed trees than those which 

 the nurseryman has to furnish he simply 

 needs to take up a leader, starting the head 

 at the desired point and removing the lower 

 branches. Each year after the trees are 

 planted they should be gone over carefully, 

 and a limb removed here or there, the ob- 

 ject being to prevent rubbing of branches 

 and to allow the top to be free and open. 

 The best time to do this, all things consid- 

 ered, is during the months of March and 

 April. The orchardist has more leisure at 

 this time, the limbs can be clearly seen 

 against the sky and the tree does not 

 suffer as it does when wounded during the 

 cold months. 



As stated above, the best pruning is that 

 which is done with the hand by rubbing off 

 the buds before the undesirable limbs have 

 had an opportunity to develop to any great 

 extent. If the operation is repeated each 

 year there will never be any large limbs to 

 remove ; at least a saw will rarely be re- 



