The second year is equallj^ important. If everything 

 goes v/ell, the leader 'vvill have pui^hed ahead and there will bo 

 an assortment of scaffold limbs in the making. Let's net he 

 In too T.iuch of a hv.rry to ,3-t r:^ of the extra limbs. Dominance 

 of the leader and the prev.:ntlOiV v/horlj of side branches which 

 tend to throttle the leader are of more concern. If a low side 

 limb shov/s si,f;n3 of outgrowing the rest of the tree, it should 

 be curbed by cutting back or by removing, entirely. 



Vi/heu the third grov/ing season i-olls around the tree 

 should be making a terminal grov/th of at least 15 or IS inches 

 and should show unmistakable signs of going somewhere. Erushi- 

 ness is not a serious matter so long as we have a strong framc- 

 v/ork in the process of development. 3ut so often something happen 

 di;ring those first three years. Winter injxxry, faulty pruning, 

 starvation or drought may give the tree a set-back. A.nd if it 

 does start grov^lng afterwards, it is likely to break out at un- 

 expected points bclov/ the leader, and as a result, the framework 

 has to be entirely revamped. A tremendous nimiber of such trees 

 arc to be seen in bearing orchard;; ef the present day. The moral 

 is briefly this. Keep the young tree growing from the start and 

 then do Just enough pruning to encourage a balanced framework. 

 Good growth. In some cases, is easier attained by a liberal mulch 

 than by a double application of fertilizer. 



Speaking of Small Fruits 



Setting of strav/berry plants as early in spring as the 

 ground can be fitted is a wise pr^ecaution. Except on a heavy 

 soil, Kay 1 should be about the dead line. The early set straw- 

 berry plant has an opportunity to becom.e established and to de- 

 velop its roots before the hot, dry weather of early suiiiJTier, 

 Such plants are also better able to develop strong runner plants 

 In mid-SLtmmer. And it is the early runner plants -vihich are most 

 likely to produce good crops the follov/ing season. There is a 

 definite relation betv/ecn number of vigorous leaves on the young 

 plant in the fall and the number of berries it produces the fol- 

 lowing spring. 



The "bleeding" of grapevines often causes unnecessary 

 worry. Experim.snts have shovm that the bleeding which results 

 from late spring pruning is not especially detrimental to the 

 vine, March j.s an ideal time to prune the grape vine bu.t it Is 

 far better to prune in April than 'not at all. 



According to J. H. Clark of rlew Jersey, the tops of 

 red raspberry and blackberry plants should be pruned back to 

 about 4-6 Inches when they are set out. If the canes are left 

 too long they Virill prodvce a nuinber of berries and in many cases 

 the plant will not be able to produce both fruit and new sucker 

 growth, so that there v;ill be few new canes for the next year's 

 crop. He also points out that the flowers should be removed 

 fi'om newly set strawberry plants before the fruit has started 

 to develop. Plants allowed to fruit the first season will us- 

 ually fall to produce a satisfactory number of vigorous runner 

 plants. 



There is still time to reorganize the raspberry and 

 blackberry planting by narrov;ing the row and by removing weak 

 and crowded canes. There seems to be a tendency to allow the 



