440 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



has extended. If this is done, the die-back down the branch is usually 

 prevented. As the trees become older, removal of some of the interior 

 limbs may be desirable to admit more light to encourage inside bearing. 



Cutting Back for a Strong Start. Dr. Fitzgerald gives specific 

 suggestions for starting the young tree by cutting back at planting, 

 rather than trusting to the growth in nursery, as follows : 



Previous to planting, the tops of the trees should be cut off from 12 to 15 

 inches above the ground, according to the number of buds on the lowest part of 

 the trunk of the tree, and the cut waxed. After these buds make a growth of 

 four to six inches, select the most thrifty one to make the butt for the future 

 tree and pinch off the tops of each of the other limbs. This will stop their growth 

 and leave them with a few leaves to shade the butt of the tree. 



When cutting trees back this way, it is absolutely necessary, especially on 

 the strong-growing hybrid root, to sucker your trees often until the top gets 

 a good start. You should dig down four to six inches around the tree to cut 

 off each sucker close with a sharp knife, for if you break them off, adventitious 

 buds will start out again and by cutting them off with a sharp knife you will 

 remove all these buds. This should be done the first time just as soon as the 

 buds begin to swell on any of the trees, and every tree should be suckered, for if 

 you allow these sucker buds to start, being lower than those of the graft, they 

 get the first sap and oftentimes prevent the buds above from starting. This 

 suckering should be done about once every ten days, or just as sure as you let the 

 suckers grow, they will keep back the growth abt>ve the graft or will prevent it 

 starting altogether. 



The tree will probably make a growth of four to twelve feet the first season. 

 The next year it will not make growth in height, but will throw its side branches. 

 Some think it necessary to cut off the top of a tree to make it branch out, but 

 my experience has been that if you will leave the tree alone two or three years, 

 it will throw out its side limbs and make a perfect tree. The only pruning that 

 is necessary is to cut off the limbs that are too low and any limbs that cross and 

 would chafe against each other. 



After the tree gets older and is bearing, the limbs of the tree should be pruned 

 to open up in the center, allowing the sun and air to go through the tree, the same 

 as with other fruit trees. With some trees that are inclined to go to wood and 

 do _not throw out enough fruit buds, you may cut back one-third of the limbs, 

 which causes them to throw out new limbs on which the fruit buds form. 



Bloom and Bearing of the Walnut. The walnut has its stam- 

 inate and pistillate blooms separate, but both occur on the same tree. 

 Successful fruiting depends upon the appearance of these two forms 

 of bloom, without too great interval of time, and although there seems 

 to be a quite a retention of vitality, the lack of bearing of some varieties 

 has been found to be due to the fact that the catkins disappear too long 

 before the pistillate bloom was sufficiently developed to receive the 

 pollen. 



The bearing age of the walnut depends upon the variety. Some of 

 the French varieties are very precocious and have borne fruit in nursery 

 row at two and three years old, but the pistillate blooms were then 

 fertilized from catkins growing on older trees. The practical bearing 

 age of the seedling English walnut in this State may be rated at six to 

 eight years, according to the variety. Trees grafted with scions from 

 bearing trees fruit much sooner. 



Harvesting Walnuts. Gathering walnuts is done in different 

 ways ; some gather them from the ground at intervals during the months 

 of September and October ; others use poles and clean the trees at one 

 operation ; some go over the ground three times ; first, picking up what 



