WHY TREES SHOULD BE PRUNED 



of picturesquesness based upon the wild type. The wild tree is rude 

 and crude from a cultural point of 



PRACTICAL PURPOSES OF PRUNING 



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

 proaches 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 re- 

 sults. 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, discussing, 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 at- 

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

 (b) health and strength of the tree ; (c) regulation of heat and light; 

 (d) attainment of strong bearing wood ; (e) attainment of size in 

 fruit; (f) promotion of regular bearing. Examine trees with refer- 

 ence 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, spray- 

 ing, fruit-thinning and picking. Low trees with obliquely-rising 

 branches are more easily cultivated than any form with horizontal 

 branches, unless 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 of the smaller fruits like cherries and olives 

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

 distance may yield 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 main branches attains superior strength by 

 virtue of thick, strongly knit, short growth between lateral 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 interfere 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 



