PRUNING THE APRICOT 219 



limbs are making an overgrowth they should be pinched back to keep the 

 head balanced. 



In the pruning of the second year, the first year's growth should be cut 

 back to within five or ten inches of the body of the tree, and all forks 

 should be cut out, even if it necessitates forming a new head, as it is much 

 better to lose some growth on a young tree than to take the risk of split- 

 ting down when the tree begins to bear fruit. 



The second year will require much more attention than the first year, in 

 order to keep off suckers and all lateral growth that may start on the under 

 side of the new limbs, the object being to make the limbs grow as nearly 

 upright as possible. 



In pruning for the third year the second year's growth should now be 

 cut back to within fifteen to twenty inches of the old wood, except the cen- 

 tral stem, which may be left twenty-four to thirty inches long, depending 

 on the number of laterals it may have thrown out. When the new shoots 

 start they should again be thinned down to two or three on each limb, and 

 all taken off that end to turn down or out at right angles, but do not take 

 off the fruit spurs. 



During the third season's growth, go over the trees about three times 

 before July to remove suckers and lateral growth that may start on the 

 lower side of the limbs, as the tendency in the third year is to make an 

 immense growth of downward laterals, and these must be taken off so as 

 to develop wood that is to be left for fruit. If the orchard is on good land 

 and has been properly irrigated and cultivated there will be a few speci- 

 mens of the fruit the third year, and as soon as these are gathered the trees 

 should be summer pruned for the first time, care being taken that the land 

 shall have been allowed to become moderately dry so that the trees may be 

 partially dormant. If the downward growth of the laterals has been kept 

 cut off, all that remains to be done is to cut off about one-half of all this sea- 

 son's growth all over the tree, using the same judgment as before with ref- 

 erence to prevailing winds and symmetry of tree. If this is properly done 

 and water at once turned on the orchard, a new growth will be made and 

 the fruit buds for next year fully developed. 



The only pruning necessary in the following winter will be to take out 

 any cross limbs and sprouts that may have been overlooked in the summer. 



After the trees begin to produce regular crops they will not grow so 

 vigorously, and the numerous prunings of the first three years will not be 

 necessary, as almost all can be done by summer pruning until the trees get 

 so old that they need old wood taken out. 



Vase-Form With Less Shortening. The foregoing is a careful 

 outline of the method of short-cutting of the tree until it comes into 

 bearing which has been generally practiced in California. There 

 has always been variation in practice in the way of less shortening 

 in of main branches. The following is a sketch of the way in which 

 the 140-acre Losse apricot orchard in the Santa Clara Valley was 

 brought to an age of twelve years and notable production : 



The trees were cut back to 15 or 18 inches when set out some ten or 

 twelve years ago. Three or four main limbs were allowed to grow so as 

 to balance the tree and were cut back to about three feet at the end of the 

 season. About each cut end, several new "leaders" grew out and at the 

 end of the season all but one of these were cut off; and it was cut back a 

 little shorter than the length on which it grew. Only one new leader is 

 left on each limb, because too many would shade and stunt buds inside the 

 tree. 



In selecting which of many leaders to save, the upright growers are 

 preferred, for the weight of fruit will make them bend over to spread the 

 tree enough. But if there is a space beside that upright leader, and an- 

 other limb grows close to its other side, the upright one is cut back to the 

 old wood and the one projecting into space is reserved. Every effort is made 

 to leave no large openings to the center of the tree; but to fill them thinly 



