1180 THE FRUIT INDUSTRY IN NEW YORK STATE 



growth an abundance of moisture rather than increased quantities 

 of food. To be sure, some fertilizer is frequently needed, but it 

 should be applied with care and intelligence to avoid waste. 

 Fruit growers are coming more and more to believe that it pays to 

 experiment carefully before applying fertilizer to their trees. 



PRUNING 



Generally speaking, plum trees do not require so much prun- 

 ing as apple trees. In fact, a new notion prevails among many 

 horticulturists to prune all fruit trees as little as possible. Most 

 of the Domestica plums naturally form fairly good heads, and 

 only occasional branches need to be removed to prevent the tops 

 from becoming too thick. The native sorts and many of the 

 Americanas form such dense, thorny heads that, unless some 

 pruning is given, picking the fruit would be nearly impossible. 

 It is common experience, however, that, no matter how well such 

 species are pruned, they still remain scraggly, crooked, and un- 

 gainly. Heading-in would make their tops so thick as to be prac- 

 tically impenetrable. 



Rank, sprawling growers, such as Burbank, need severe heading- 

 in each year. All of the Trifloras require more pruning than do 

 the European sorts, since most of the fruit is borne on the preced- 

 ing season's growth and the bearing wood should be kept near the 

 trunk. In the commercial orchards of the state it is the practice 

 to form the heads of the Trifloras by removing the leader and 

 leaving a vase-formed head. After this form is established subse- 

 quent pruning is light, since it consists of removing only in- 

 jured and surplus branches and cutting back long, slender growths. 

 In the case of the Domesticas and Insititias, a central trunk is 

 left with three or four main branches. Future pruning consists 

 merely of thinning out crowded branches and removing injured 

 ones. Trees making an excessive growth, however, should be cut 

 back. It has long been the custom to cut severely the rank grow- 

 ing varieties, such as those of the Triflora species, but the advisa- 

 bility of this practice is doubtful, as the more such plums are 

 pruned the more they will need priming in the years to follow, 

 might be better to decrease the food supply and prune but little, 

 although on rich soils the trees would become unmanageable unless 

 some pruning was given year by year. 



