74 HORTICULTURE, FORESTRY, FLORICULTURE 



branches. Do not cut back beyond the last season's growth unless 

 the previous season's growth has good, strong buds from \yhich to 

 produce new shoots. Good, strong, main branches seldom arise from 

 side shoots on two year old wood, and in forming the head of the 

 tree such a practice will usually result disastrously. (Wis. E. S. B. 

 201.) 



Pruning the Bearing Orchard. Pruning is one of the most 

 neglected practices of good orchard management. Neglect of the 

 trees in this respect does not usually show its injurious effects as 

 readily as lack of spraying or fertilization, and for that reason is fre- 

 quently considered of minor importance. No one at the present time 

 argues that rational pruning is detrimental to the tree, but it is a 

 fact that in a very large majority of the orchards no rational system 

 of pruning is followed. The little that is done is usually haphazard, 

 and spasmodic, and not infrequently more injurious than beneficial. 



Neglected pruning especially of young trees can never be cor- 

 rected so as to give as good a tree as though the work had been done 

 at the right time. The first pruning is the most important factor in 

 the history of the plant, but those immediately following it are of 

 only slightly less importance. If the tree be properly pruned during 

 these years, the matter of pruning after it comes into bearing is a 

 great deal less troublesome problem than if the work has been only 

 half executed. 



Pruning during the early stages of a tree's development has for 

 its primary object, the formation of an ideal fruit bearing area. 

 Making up this ideal are such factors as proper branching, keeping 

 the head open, encouraging the production of fruit spurs, correcting 

 defects of growth, and keeping the head down so that spraying and 

 harvesting will be facilitated. To secure this ideal or even approach 

 it, pruning must be done at least once each year, and when done 

 not be a matter of merely going through the orchard and clipping 

 out a branch here or there. Each tree must be carefully studied as to 

 its individual characteristics and then pruned accordingly. 



The Time to Prune. It has been said that the best time to 

 prune is every month in the year. If carried out consistently, this 

 is undoubtedly true, but most growers would find it inconvenient to 

 do so. Pruning is not confined to any distinct periods or seasons. 

 Some of the best growers carry heavy pocket knives and whenever 

 these see a small branch which is undesirable, they remove it. As a 

 rule, however, pruning as a distinct practice is performed during late 

 summer, and known as summer pruning, or during the dormant 

 period and called winter pruning. 



Summer pruning tends to induce fruitfulness in trees which are 

 prone to throw all their energy into vegetative growth, but it is a 

 devitalizing process. Followed for any considerable period it causes 

 a decline in both vigor and fruitfulness of the tree. It cannot be 

 recommended as a general practice. Winter pruning may be done 

 at any time during the dormant period. Late winter or early spring 

 is preferable to early winter under Wisconsin conditions. Where 

 branches are removed early in the dormant period, the wounds make 



