PRUNING IN WASHINGTON 187 



some of the trees which may be seen in Nebraska. Pick- 

 ing fruit is not an easy task under the best of conditions, 

 and when the tree is so full of limbs and suckers jthat it 

 becomes almost inaccessible, the work is doubly aggravat- 

 ing. Pruning is needed in Nebraska as well as in New 

 York, but the methods employed, or at least the measure 

 of wood which is cut away, will need to be varied. In 

 general, it should be much less severe in the western 

 states than in the Atlantic states. The main thing needed 

 is to watch the habit of growth of the young trees, to 

 prevent the formation of undesirable and crowding limbs, 

 and to remove occasional suckers and water-shoots which 

 may spring out from the trunk and base of the branches 

 as the tree gets older. 



" The top of the tree needs to be kept more dense than 

 in moister climates. The fruit itself is much less likely 

 to suffer from shade than from exposure to wind and sun. 

 In the eastern states it is necessary to keep the lower 

 limbs well up from the ground, or the fruit produced upon 

 them will be lacking in color and flavor. In the West 

 this is an unnecessary precaution, and low-headed trees 

 are much in favor because they are believed to suffer less 

 from the wind and to protect the bodies of the trees 

 from sun -scald." 



The different ideas to be followed in two parts 

 of one state are set forth by Balmer : * 



" Climatic conditions will largely determine what prac- 

 tice we shall adopt in pruning our fruit trees. In a state 

 like Washington, where such dissimilar climatic conditions 

 exist as between the regions west of the Cascades and 

 the regions east of the Cascades, no practice can be laid 

 down that will be applicable to both sides of the range. 

 What would be a perfectly proper practice west of the 



*J. A. Balmer, "Pruning Orchard Trees, "Bull. 25, Wash. Exp. Sta., 1896. 



