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as the ground dries enough to crumble. If this is done, new roots v;ill de- 

 velop while the air is too cold for buds to break, and v;hen leaves do appear 

 there will be a root system ready to supply them with water. In planting 

 it is a good plan to get out the sprayer and wash in the soil around the roots. 



The amount of pruning has much to do v;ith the start made by the tree. 

 Planted under ideal conditions a one-year old tree needs little or no pruning. 

 But do not hesitate to prune severely if there is any question of a vigorous 

 start, even to cutting the tree to v;ithin 6 inches of the ground in extreme 

 cases. 



A vigorous start is the main objective. If the tree grows vrell the 

 first year there will be a strong shoot growing up, on which the top may be 

 built later at any height desired. If the tree starts slowly the central 

 leader usually is lost right there, never to be regained. I think I never 

 saw an apple tree that grew too much during the first year in the orchard, 

 but I have seen thousands that grew too little - and never got over it. 



Remember, the central framevrork of the mature tree is developed 

 in the first 3 or 4 years. The first year is the most important year in the 

 life of the tree so far as shape of the tree is concerned, and the first 

 month is the most important part of that year. Llake sure that the tree is 

 not stunted by transplanting. Make it grovj-! R. A. Van Meter 



Hand Pollin ation of Apples 



Bees native to the irrigated valleys of the Northwest live in the 

 ground. Irrigation drives them out. Imported colonies of honeybees tend to 

 visit plaiits in surrounding non-irrigated areas and neglect the apple trees. 

 Under these conditions, hand pollination of apple trees is proving profitable, 

 sind thousands of acres of apple orchards are pollinated each spring by hand 

 in that section. 



Blossoms are collected just before they open and rubbed over a screen 

 to remove the pollen. The pollen is applied with a camel's hair brush. The 

 labor cost of an experienced man in pollenizing a mature apple tree amounts 

 to 25 to 35 cents. Two or three ounces of pollen are required for an acre of 

 trees. Not all blossoms are pollenized but only enough to give a well dis- 

 tributed crop. 



Northern Spy groovers in western Nev; York have long had trouble in 

 getting a satisfactory set of fruit. This may be due to the fact that Northern 

 Spy blossoms are not very attractive to bees. Now many grov/ers are hand pol- 

 lenizing Spies by pruning pollenizing varieties at blossom time, throwing the 

 branches in a hay rack and, standing on the rack, brushing the Spy trees with 

 the pollen-bearing branches. This method is said to be effective and not too 

 expensive. 



It is doubtful if hand pollination would help many trees in New 

 England. Bees find pretty good working conditions here and may be obtained 

 at reasonable rates. Y.lien Nev: England orchards fail to set satisfactory crops 

 year after year, it is generally due to low vigor. Under these conditions, 

 hand pollination would be of doubtful value. There may be a few blocks, 

 hov;ever, where the New York method might well be tried. R. A. Van Meter 



