358 Landscape Gardening 



Forming the Head and Pruning 



When trees are set closely and where small fruits are 

 planted between them, the head or main branches must be 

 carried higher than if only trees were planted in order to 

 facilitate comfortable working among them. The main 

 branches in this case must be started about 5 feet from the 

 ground. On the lawn and where nothing is grown under 

 the trees the branches may start at 2 or 3 feet from the 

 ground unless it is desired to have them higher for shade or 

 for obtaining views under the branches. If used as a screen, 

 it is desirable to have them branch from the ground up, and 

 low-headed trees are much more easily cared for, the fruit 

 more easily gathered, and they will generally live longer. 



The amount of after-pruning required, if properly formed 

 at planting, is very small if the trees have full exposure on 

 all sides; and if the trees are examined several times during 

 the growing season perfect form may be produced with 

 only the finger and thumb and a small pocket-knife, and 

 this without the loss of any growth of wood, which would 

 be the result if pruning is done at the end of the growing 

 season only. 



Up to the tune of fruiting all the pruning fruit-trees 

 properly cared for will need is that mentioned above; but 

 after they begin to bear, some of the branches will often droop 

 so much as to require removal, or they may cross one another 

 so as to be injured, but in no case should large branches be 

 removed when it can possibly be avoided, as every cut made 

 on the trunk or main branches of a tree will more or less 

 shorten its life. Broken branches should be cut back to 

 the solid wood and all dead branches be removed, but every 

 wound made in this work should be covered at once with 

 linseed-oil paint, grafting wax or some other preservative. 

 Where large branches must be removed, the saw should be 



