130 state; pomologicaIv society. 



ment. Furthermore, since plants have no nerves, they cannot die 

 of shock, as is sometimes alleged. If the plant is largely what 

 its food supply and other environments make it, then the removal 

 of a portion of it cannot be injurious unless the removal is so 

 great as to interfere with the nutrition of the remaining parts, 

 as already explained. 



It is often urged that pruning should be commenced when 

 the tree is planted and continued annually throughout the life 

 of the tree. It may be a question, however, if we really save a 

 proportionate amount of time, or preserve a better growth of the 

 tree, by early pruning; that is, whether equally good or better 

 results may not be obtained by removing superfluous branches 

 at four, five, or six years of age, rather than by pruning very 

 early in the lifetime of the tree. As already suggested, there 

 is an exact balance between the feeding capacity of the plant — 

 that is, its root system and food supply — and the superficial 

 growth. If we have an active, efficient root system, the top will 

 be correspondingly large. If now, a large part of the top is 

 remo\^ed, there is an endeavor to restore the balance by an 

 tmusually rapid growth. Pruned plants are almost always more 

 vigorous than unpruned ones because the food taken up by the 

 roots is concentrated into a smaller number of branches. Prun- 

 ing must, in a measure, then, have taken the same effect as 

 manuring, since the stimulating effect of the new growth must 

 be felt upon the root system also. 



Let us take a concrete example, recorded by Bailey* : 

 "Two Siberian crab trees were set in the spring of 

 1890. The trees were as nearly alike as possible and 

 set but 25 feet apart. In 1891, the trees made nearly 

 a uniform growth. During the winter one of the trees 

 was severely pruned, the pruning amounting to 460 inches of 

 wood, of which 432 inches was new wood. The other tree was 

 not pruned. During 1892 the unpruned tree produced 118 new 

 twigs with a total length of 1,758 inches, while the pruned tree 

 produced 120 new twigs and made a total growth of 1,926 

 inches. The pruned tree, therefore, made 14 feet more growth 

 than the other, which is a large proportion for a tree only three 

 years set ; and the growth was stouter upon this tree also. In 



* Pruning-Book, p. 15. 



