IN OUR ORCHARDS 179 



do not recommend. You may at least have your 

 Astrachan and your King David on the same stock, 

 also the Spitzenburg and Greening. Select sorts that 

 have similar style of growth. Planting dwarf trees 

 is another way of getting a good supply of fruit from 

 a small area. Dwarf apples make very beautiful 

 trees, giving good fruit, and are easily picked. 



If you happen to have bought an old orchard, or 

 the relics of one, do not be too hasty in cuttting it 

 down. A little care in the removal of dead wood 

 and suckers will often restore an old tree to consider- 

 able vigor and capacity for bearing. 



Now about trimming; a good deal about this will 

 come in at another place, and all I intend to say now 

 is that, from the moment the tree is set in the ground, 

 it will want watching and guidance. Most of the 

 early trimming, that is, for a year or two, can be 

 done with the thumb nail, or a small pocket knife. 

 Do not let any buds start to grow which will not 

 place a limb just where you want it, and you want 

 the limbs, of course, to be fairly distributed about 

 the trunk. When you cut back a shoot that you 

 wish to grow farther, leave the last bud pointing in 

 the direction you wish it to grow. If two buds start 

 close together, remove the weaker one. In the fall, 

 after growth has stopped, cut back the strong shoots 

 about one-half, leaving the last bud as I directed 

 that is, pointing outward. 



Trees are exactly like animals about feeding ; they 

 must have enough to eat or they will lose their ability 



