GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF ORCHARDS. 193 



the trunk at the base, removing any rival shoot that may 

 threaten to compete with it, and taking out a little useless 

 spray from the centre of the tree, if the branches are too 

 thick and are in each other's way. One great object being 

 always, in pruning, to promote hardiness and fertility, these 

 two points must be always kept in view. As soon as an 

 apple-tree is able to bear, permit a moderate production of 

 fruit, but do not allow a heavy crop. It is better to have 

 a few fine, well-formed apples at first, near the body of the 

 tree, than a lot of miserable half-grown specimens dangling 

 in the wind at the end of the limbs. Wherever a tree has 

 been so neglected that it has two or three leaders which 

 can not be cut down to one, without wounding and nearly 

 girdling the limb selected to remain, it is better to retain 

 them all, and prune the whole into a compact oval or dis- 

 taff form; and, therefore, the limbs spreading at a right 

 angle should be carefully reduced, not immediately at the 

 trunk, but at a convenient distance, some few inches from 

 it ; for it'is better to make an elbow which, in pruning, is 

 generally to be avoided than to leave a branch too long 

 whose length will destroy the regular oval shape of the tree. 

 In many instances, there is such a desire to have young 

 trees produce a bountiful crop of fruit, that a young or- 

 chard is kept in an unthrifty condition for many years, 

 from no other cause than overbearing while the trees were 

 growing rapidly. Our own practice has ever been to clip 

 off, in many instances, seven-eighths of all the young fruit, 

 as the growth of the branches was of more importance and 

 value than the small quantity of fruit that would be pro 

 duced at the expense of the future hardiness and vigor of 

 the bearing shoots. It will be found more injurious to 

 young trees to bear a bountiful crop of fruit than for 

 young animals to produce young before they have attained 

 a proper age for propagating their species. 



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