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a rule, priming should be done while the tree is dormant. 

 Some prefer to prune in the early spring for the reason that 

 wounds made at this time usually heal over more readily. If 

 the work is started in the fall it is more likely to get the 

 attention that it deserves, and when the first suitable days 

 for spraying arrive the trees will be ready. An additional 

 advantage of fall pruning is found in that wounds made in 

 the fall have a chance to dry out over winter and may be 

 more effectively sealed up with paint in the spring than 

 freshly made wounds. 



Summer Prune to check Growth. 

 The practice of summer pruning as applied to apple trees 

 is almost unknown in ISTew England. Undoubtedly there are 

 occasions when judicious summer pruning is justifiable, and 

 in the hands of the skillful orchardist it is often a very profit- 

 able procedure. It should be remembered that during the 

 growing season it is a devitalizing process and has the oppo- 

 site effect to winter pruning. It is well known that when trees 

 are making very rapid growth they are not likely to set fruit, 

 and when a tree becomes weakened from any cause it imme- 

 diately assumes the fruit-bearing habit. Knowing these ten- 

 dencies, there seems to be no better way of regulating the 

 amount of growth than by seasonal pruning. The rule is to 

 prune in winter for vegetative growth and in summer for 

 fruit. Wlien trees are making a strong growth, then sum- 

 mer pruning is recommended. As a rule, the last part of 

 June is the best time for summer pruning. It is seldom 

 advisable to do a complete job at this season of the year, but 

 just enough of the branches should be removed to check the 

 growth. With young trees it is often advisable to summer 

 prune to start them into bearing, but with mature trees he 

 practice is seldom necessary, for sufficient check usually may 

 be afforded by withholding nitrogenous fertilizers and by 

 allowing weeds or some other crop to grow in the orchard. 



