174 



no difficulty in doing^ so. Perkaps one or two qualifications; 

 should be made as to advisability of renovation. I would 

 not attempt to reclaim any old orchard where the trunks of 

 the trees were unhealthy, or in too advanced stage of decay^ 

 or where the orchard was in a naturally unfavorable loca- 

 tion. 



What is the best method of a=ceomplishing this renova- 

 tion ? I will speak of the methods, which, while they may not 

 exactly coincide with your ideai?, I have followed for some- 

 years with a fair degree of success. 



It is quite a task to renovate an old neglected orchard^ 

 and requires considerable time and patience. For the sake- 

 of clearness, let us consider it under the following heads r 

 Pruning, Spraying, Cultivation,. Fiertilization and Thinning- 

 the Fruit. 



PRUNING^ 



Most of the older orchards were planted with the idea 

 of harvesting a crop of hay first and apples second. This^ 

 caused formers to prune off the lower branches so that the 

 teams would have no difficulty in working underneath. A 

 bad practice, at best it is absolutely fatal under present day 

 conditions. What we want now is a low down, spreading 

 tree, with the ends of the branches touching, or nearly 

 touching, the ground. We want to prune down, not up, 



1. These low down trees emi be sprayed at much les» 

 cost. 



2. The fruit can be picked at much less cost. 



3. The trees are much less wind racked. 



4. The fruit if it falls is not so badlj'' bruised. 

 Granting that I have stated the case correctly, most of 



the old orchards have been pruned up, how can we get them^ 

 pruned down? 



It is surprising to see how quickly an orchard will re- 

 spond to a systematic method of treatment. 



In severe cases of scales infestation, I have not hesitated 

 to adopt radical measures, and' in exceptional eases cutting 

 back the limbs to mere stubs — this of course will cause 

 many water sprouts to come out, which will have to be- 

 thinned out the following summer. It is often advisable to 

 head these back, as the tendency is to shoot upward. It also 

 tends to aid the formation of fruit spurs. Again these are 

 eases where taking^ two ob three years> tO' aeeomplish thi» 



