STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. I29 



pulverize the soil as completely as could be done with plow and 

 harrow, and will, in addition, serve an important purpose in 

 destroying fruit infested with noxious insects. 



PRUNING. 



One of the most important characteristics of any plant is the 

 fact that its various parts are unlike ; that each branch is, in a 

 measure, independent and capable of becoming a new individual. 

 On this fact rests the philosophy of the pruning of plants. 



There is an intense struggle for existence among all organisms, 

 and changes in the numbers and characters of individuals are 

 largely a matter of environment and of readjustment between 

 different types. Each kind is held down to a certain equilib- 

 rium in relation to other kinds by the struggle with those kinds 

 and with individuals of the same kind. The greater the number 

 of pigweeds in a given field, the less is the opportunity for 

 another pigweed to gain foothold. Ihe same is true of the 

 strawberry or anv other plant of value to man. 



Now a tree is essentially a collection or colony of individuals. 

 Every branch is endeavoring to do what every other branch 

 does — i. e., to bear leaves, flowers and fruit. So every branch 

 competes with every other branch, and there are more germs 

 of branches — buds — than can possibly be supported upon any 

 tree. As with individual plants, so with branches — no two are 

 exactly alike, but each is what its position or condition makes it. 

 Some are strong and some are weak. There is no fixed shape 

 or size for any. 



Granting this position, we see that there is a struggle among 

 the branches ; all are not necessary to the life of the tree ; the 

 removal of the useless ones will serve to the improvement of the 

 remaining ones. In other words, pruning is a necessity. 



It is commonly asserted that cutting off a large limb is injuri- 

 ous because a given amovmt of tissue, in the formation of which 

 the plant has expended effort, is thus summarily cut off. In 

 other words, it is assumed that a plant has a fixed vitality from 

 which a certain amount is withdrawn wlienever a portion of the 

 plant is cut away. This assumption is wholly gratuitous. The 

 vitalitv of the plant is very largely determined by the conditions 

 under which it grows — the soil, the surroundings and the treat- 



