250 SOME SPECIFIC ADVICE 



our opinions may need to be revised; but it does 

 not follow that the opposite extreme is the better. 

 The writer prefers trees with roots on ; but he has 

 no quarrel with those who prefer them with roots off. 



SUBSEQUENT TREATMENT OF THE PLANTS 



Having now obtained a general conception of 

 the type of tree which we wish to grow, and 

 having started off the main or scaffold branches, 

 the subsequent treatment consists in cutting out 

 all interfering and superfluous limbs and keep- 

 ing the top within the shape which we have in 

 mind. It is impossible to give specific advice 

 as to w r hat branches should be cut, for every 

 branch is a problem in itself, and must be solved 

 for itself. In fruit trees, the head should be 

 kept fairly open, so that all parts are exposed 

 to sun and air, and the tree is made accessible 

 to pickers, and easy to spray. All limbs which 

 tend to make an over -vigorous growth should 

 be cut out or checked, in order that the tree may 

 keep its balance, and limbs which run directly 

 crosswise the top, and those which rub each 

 other, should be removed. 



Some of the problems connected with the form 

 of the top may be suggested in a series of pic- 

 tures taken from an individual tree of Rhode 

 Island Greening. This tree was set in the spring 

 of 1889. Having grown two years without prun- 



