PRUNING THE PEACH 317 



culture and manuring, each of the three or four main 

 branches will, in the second year, throw out from their 

 tips two or three leaders, each of which should make a 

 growth of three to four feet. Early in the spring follow- 

 ing pruning should begin, with the object of building a 

 broad, low, open-headed tree. This is best accomplished 

 by first thinning out all crowding inside branches and 

 leaders, and shortening- in all others from one -half to 

 three -fourths of the new year's growth, the closest cutting 

 being in the central top. The third year's work should be 

 on the same general plan ; and it will often be found, unless 

 the second year's work was exceedingly well done, that 

 some of the third year's work ought to have been done then. 

 The object of the first three years' pruning is to establish a 

 well -formed tree best suited to forcing the greatest amount 

 of fruit to the highest perfection at the least possible cost. 

 "After the right sort of tree has been established and 

 trees have reached a bearing age, pruning for a year or two 

 may be continued, partially on the line of a correct tree 

 form, but more particularly as relating to fruit production. 

 And so right here we abandon late winter and early spring 

 pruning, and do most of the work after the fruit-buds begin 

 to swell, so that we can judge on inspection which are alive 

 and which are dead. In years when very few buds have 

 survived the frosts of winter, pruning should be done with 

 the object of retaining a great majority of the living buds, 

 regardless of tree form, which can be somewhat righted the 

 next year. Of course, in years when a good number of 

 buds are found alive, pruning can be continued for form, 

 but as the tree grows older, less and less pruning will be 

 required. The methods here described have in their early 

 years given handsome, even-headed, well-rounded trees, 

 which have been exceedingly profitable, although in later 

 years they have become less shapely. As it is results- 

 fruit results and dollar results that count in commercial 

 peach culture, we judge the method to be a decided success, 



