Fruit Growing 27 



and see where remaining branches can be shortened to overcome the 

 tendency to run too high. Do not shear off branches leaving a lot 

 of stubs in the upper part of the tree, but always cut back a main 

 branch to a lateral and shorten the lateral higher up if desirable. 

 This will keep away from having a lot of brush in the top of the 

 tree. Study each tree by itself for symmetry and balance of branches 

 and proceed by judgment rather than by rules anyone can give you. 



Top- Grafting Apples. 



Can I graft over a fczv Ben Davis apple trees 25 years old or there- 

 abouts, but thrifty and vigorous? 



It is certainly possible, by the old top-grafting method which has 

 been used everywhere with apples for centuries. Graft during the 

 winter. Work on the limbs above the head so as to preserve the 

 advantage of the old forking, using a cleft graft and waxing well. 

 It is usually best to graft over a part of the limbs and the balance 

 a year later. 



Will the Apples Be the Same Kind? 



/ have a mixed orchard, )nostly Gravensteins, and I want to graft 

 all the other trees into a Gravenstein top if I can do so and at the same 

 time get the early' Gravenstein bloom and the fruit zuould be as satisfac- 

 tory as though on other roots. 



The new tree grown from the grafts will behave just like the 

 tree from which the scions were taken if similarly thrifty. 



Places for Apples. 



What quality is it in tlic soil in the vicinity of Watsonville that makes 

 that country peculiarly adapted to the culture of apples? Are there not 

 other portions of the State -where apples could be produced on a com- 

 mercial basis? 



It is not alone quality in the soil, but character of the climate 

 that underlie success in the Watsonville district. Apples can be and 

 are grown on a commercial scale through the coast district of Sonoma, 

 Mendocino, and Humboldt counties; also in suitable situations in the 

 coast counties south of Santa Cruz county. Along the coast, as far 

 as deep retentive soil and the cool air of the ocean extend, one may 

 expect to get apples similar to those produced in the Watsonville 

 district. In the interior valleys, on suitable soils with adequate mois- 

 ture, early apples are profitably grown, while in the higher foothill 

 and mountain valleys in all parts of the State, where moisture is 

 sufficient, late keeping apples of high quality are produced. 



Summer-pruning Apples. 



Will summer pruning cause apple trees to bear fruit instead of grow- 

 ing so much neiv luood? 



Over-growth can be repressed by summer pruning, and if done 

 just at the right time bearing is increased and late new growth is 



