68 SYSTEM OF PRUNING. 



should be made close to the body of the tree or to 

 the branch from which it forks off. The surface of 

 the wound should be made smooth and coated over 

 with gum shellac dissolved in alcohol. I have use'd 

 this paste for a number of years, with satisfactory 

 results. Owners should not be over-anxious to have 

 a large tree in a few years, but rather endeavor, by a 

 judicious system of pruning, to get a stocky growth, 

 and strengthen the branches near the ground. In 

 this way the whole surface of the tree will produce 

 alike. By pursuing this course, the buds on the 

 lower branches are developed, fruit spurs are formed 

 near the trunk of the tree, and by keeping the 

 branches far enough apart to admit sun and air 

 freely, the fruit will attain full size, and will be less 

 likely to be blown oif by heavy gales in the fall 

 than if on the top of the tree. 



When the tree is in place, from one-half to two- 

 thirds of the young shoots should be pruned, leav- 

 ing every branch shorter than the one immediately 

 under it. By strictly following this method, the up- 

 ward tendency of the sap will be in a degree checked, 

 and there will be a more even distribution of it 

 among the lower limbs. The scripture adage, " train 

 up a child in the way he should go, and when he is 

 old he will not depart from it," is no less true of a 

 fruit tree. It rests solely with the owner, whether 



