5:^2 now TO MAKE THE FARM PAY. 



of pruning. If tlie limbs are so large as to need a saw, the cut 

 sliouia aftorw.inls be pared perfectly smooth and covered with 

 the preparation of shellac. The cut surface should be as small 

 as possible, and always iu single shoots just beyond a bud. {Fig. 

 121.) The peach and grape should have a little roore wood 

 above the bud than represented in this cut. By elaborate 

 sv.«!tom3 of pruning and training, a tree may be made to grow in 

 an form desired, and the curious specimens in the gardens of 

 many horticulturists of France and England, and a few in this 

 country, are the admiration of all beholders. We speak of this 

 hero only to show that the unsightly and ill shaped trees com- 

 monly seen in farmers' orchards are advertisements of either the 

 i_';iorance or indilference of their owners, as the shape of the 

 tiv..' is entirely in the hand of the cultivator. This shaping 

 >hoii!d commence in the nursery, according to our plan, the 

 .-■;c')ftd season after budding, or the fourth year from the seed. 

 Tliii trees have had a whole season of growth and will show 

 very marked differences. All will be too tall and spindling, and 

 the tops must be cut back one-third to one-half, and the other 

 branches trimmed so as to give the desired shape to the tree. 

 The best shapes for each fruit are given in connection with the 

 treatment of that fruit. The shape of the tree during this its 

 last season in the nursery is governed by pinching off the ends 

 of the shoots: a few minutes each week spent among a thousand 

 youn-.,' trees iu the nursery will sufTice for correcting any bad 

 Iinbit,s of growth. If the top shoots up, at the expense of the 

 side brar.chcs, pinch off the terminal bud, if shoots form too low, 

 pinch them; if shoots appear in wrong places, pinch them oft; 

 keeping in mind always the shape desired. This is usually 

 done with the thumb nail, but a pair of nippers may be used 

 to advantage. The main point in this process is not to let the 

 trees spindle nor develop on one side at the expense of the 



