126 THE NUT CULTUKIST. 



in clusters. In pruning the bearing trees, the main 

 point to be observed is to head back the strong leading 

 shoots, to prevent the trees growing too tall, as well as 

 to force out the side or lateral twigs as fruiting wood 

 for the ensuing year. If the heads of the trees become 

 too much crowded to admit light and air to the center, 

 some of the larger branches must be removed entire. 

 The best time to prune is in early spring, when the trees 

 are in bloom, for at this season we can readily determine 

 the injured from the sound male catkins, and preserve 

 enough of these to insure perfect fertilization. It is not 

 necessary, however, that there should be healthy pollen- 

 bearing catkins on every tree in an orchard, for if one in 

 a dozen is well supplied, there will be sufficient to fer- 

 tilize the flowers of all growing near by. It often hap- 

 pens, in our rather severe climate, that the catkins of 

 some trees or varieties are winterkilled, while the pistil- 

 late flowers enclosed in the buds escape injury, and 

 when this occurs it is well to have some hardy variety at 

 hand, from which pollen can be obtained when needed. 

 The inferior varieties are usually the most hardy, and 

 the wild European hazel or our northern beaked hazel, 

 will usually escape injury where all the large improved 

 sorts fail, and it requires but a few minutes' labor to cut 

 branches bearing sound catkins, and scatter these about 

 through the heads of trees requiring such assistance to 

 make them fruitful. 



SPECIES OF AMERICAN HAZELS. 



CORYLUS AMERICANA (Walters). Common hazel 

 bush. Leaves roundish, heart-shaped, pointed, coarsely 

 serrate ; husk somewhat downy, with a wide, flattened, 

 fringed border extending beyond the roundish nut. 

 Shell rather thick and brittle ; kernel sweet and good, 

 but the nut is too small to be considered of much value. 

 A. low shrub, with many stems springing from the roots. 



