ENDS SOUGHT IN PRUNING 107 



which is necessarily and essentially different from a conception of pic- 

 turesqueness based upon the feral type. The wild tree is rude and 

 crude from a cultural point of view. 



PRACTICAL PURPOSES OF PRUNING 



One of the first things for a beginner to undertake as he approaches 

 the practice of pruning trees and vines is to form a good idea of the 

 purposes to be served. Imitation is not the foundation of intelligent 

 pruning, though it yields many valuable suggestions. Satisfactory 

 work rests upon a correct understanding of the reasons for each act 

 and to the attainment of this, all study, observation and experience 

 should tend. Possessing this, one can proceed capably, modifying 

 method to meet condition, and producing desirable results. Receive 

 all suggestions and then go quietly to the tree and study your problem 

 in its shade. The tree is the best revelator of its needs. Some of the 

 best pruners in California are men who were untrained to horticulture 

 before they entered upon their orchard work. Reading, discussion, 

 systematic instruction are all valuable. They save much time and many 

 errors, but recourse to the tree affords the sovereign test of attainment. 



These may be counted among the practical purposes to be attained 

 by pruning in California : (a) Convenience of the grower ; (b) health 

 and strength of the tree ; (c) regulation of heat and light ; ( d) attain- 

 ment of strong bearing wood ; (e) attainment of size in fruit ; (f) pro- 

 motion of regular bearing. Examine trees with reference to their 

 embodiment of these characters and one can hardly fail to secure rays 

 of light upon the subject of pruning which seem dark to so many. 



Convenience. Trees which branch near the ground are most 

 quickly and cheaply handled in all the operations of pruning, spraying, 

 fruit-thinning and picking. Low trees with obliquely-rising branches 

 are more easily cultivated than any form with horizontal branches, un- 

 'less the head is carried so high that the animals pass easily under the 

 tree. To do this sacrifices all the other conveniences and economies 

 which actually determine profit, and is really out of the question from 

 a commercial point of view. Sometimes it does not pay to pick some 

 fruits at a certain distance above the ground, when picking at half that 

 distance yields a profit. 



Health and Strength. It is imperative in most parts of this 

 State that the sunshine be not allowed to touch the bark during the heat 

 of the day. This protection is secured even for young trees by low 

 branching and encouragement of small, low laterals. The low tree with 

 properly spaced branches attains superior strength by virtue of thick, 

 strongly knit, short growth between branches, and by its strong, stiff, 

 obliquely-rising growth sustains weight which brings horizontal 

 branches to the ground, and thus even high-headed trees are liable to 

 continually increasing interference with cultivation, and the desperate 

 grower has to raise the head of his tree higher into the air and farther 

 above the profit line, while at the same time' he renders it more liable 

 to sunburn, to bark-binding and to unthrift by forcing the sap to flow 



