PRUNING AND TRAINING. 117 



trees will find his well-deserved punishment in miserable 

 fruits. 



Beginning to Prune. We have, for example, a young 

 grafted tree (Fig. 46), the top of which it is desirable to 

 train, from year to year, until a neat and symmetrical head 

 is formed, similar to Fig. 51. During the first two to four 



Fig. 51. 



An apple-tree properly trained and pruned. 



seasons, according to the rapidity of the growth of the 

 young tree, no other pruuing-tool than the thumb-nail will 

 be required, providing the pruning is done at the proper 

 time. All the low branches, spurs, and leaves should be 

 allowed to grow, as a young tree can not flourish without 

 leaves. But, after the branches have grown about one foot 

 long on each side, let the ends be pinched off, say one-fourth 

 of an inch, sufficient to check their lateral extension, to 

 cause the stem of the tree to grow more stocky, and to in- 



