PRUNING, PROCESS OF. 401 PRUNING, PROCESS OF. 



wounded surface, when the healing of the 

 wound will be quicker than it would have 

 been had the cut been made nearer the 





FIG. 3. SECOND YEARS PRUNING OF STANDARD 

 WITH TWO SHOOTS. 



stem. If amputation of a larger branch is 

 made with the saw, the cut should be made 

 smooth with the knife or chisel, and covered 

 with grafting paste. 



Formation of Head in Standard. The 

 first object in pruning a standard tree is the 

 formation of its head. The first pruning 

 must take place at the end of the first 

 season after grafting, when the scion has 

 made its growth, as represented in Fig. 2, 

 and when two shoots have sprung from the 

 graft. To form a full round head, the two 

 shoots should be pruned into #, a. The 

 year after, the tree will present the appear- 

 ance represented in Fig. 3 ; or, if three 

 shoots have been left the first year, and the 

 whole three headed in, in the following 



year they will appear as in Fig. 4, each 

 shoot having thrown out two new branches. 

 The one tree now presents a head of six, 

 and the other four shoots. At the end of 

 second year both are to be headed back, the 

 one to the shape indicated by the crossing 

 lines a, a, a, a, the other as nearly as 

 possible to the same distance from the 

 graft. 



Another year's growth will, in each in- 

 stance, double the number of main shoots, 

 which will now be eight and twelve respec- 

 tively. If a greater number of shoots appear, 

 or if any of them seem badly placed, their 

 growth should be prevented by pinching 

 off the tops when young, and pruning them 

 clean off when the tree has shed its leaves. 



FIG, 4. SECOND YEARS PRUNING OF STANDARD 

 WITH TREE SHOOTS* 



The time for winter pruning is between 

 November and February, before the sap 

 begins to stir. Those trees which have 



27 



