282 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



tree, and the globe or close centered tree. 

 In the first the frame-work of the tree 

 consists of a short trunk surmounted by 

 four or five main branches ascending 

 obliquely. In the close-centered tree the 

 trunk is continued above the branches, 

 forming the center of the tree. There 

 are several modifications of each of these. 

 In this climate the open-headed, vase- 

 formed tree is best for the peach and 

 the close-centered two-storied tree is best 

 for all other fruits. Whatever the form, 

 care should be taken that the lowest 

 branches are longest so that the greatest 

 possible leaf-surface will be exposed to the 

 sun and light. 



Tree Formation 



For several years after planting, the 

 peach alone excepted, fruit trees need to 

 be pruned only to train the tree. Just 

 how much to prune young trees depends 

 upon the fruit, the variety, the soil and 

 the climate. Fruit growers prune trees 

 far too much, thereby increasing the 

 growth of wood and of leaf surface and 

 of delaying the fruiting of the plant. If 

 trees were originally well selected all that 

 is needed is to remove an occasional 

 branch which starts out in the wrong 

 place — the sooner done the better — and to 

 take out dead, injured or crossed limbs. 

 The peach, some plums and some pears 

 may need heading-in, and a weak or sickly 

 tree may require somewhat more severe 

 pruning. 



Dehorning: Trees 



A great deal is said about dehorning 

 trees. By dehorning is meant the cut- 

 ting back of all branches to within two 

 feet or even less of the trunk. The term in 

 use for this rather severe operation is 

 a misnomer, for the tree so treated is 

 really decapitated. If cutting off the 

 top of a tree is "dehorning" one can as 

 well say that cutting off the roots is "de- 

 tailing." Most trees that are "dehorned" 

 may as well be "detailed" at the same 

 time. There are, however, exceptional 

 cases with peaches and possibly other 

 stone fruits when this wholesale renew- 

 ing of top is rational, as when good trees 

 of these fruits in their prime are se- 

 verely injured by overbearing, heavy 



winds, snows, fungi, or other causes. But 

 to "dehorn" peach trees 15 or more years 

 old for the sake of one more crop is usu- 

 ally a very poor practice. Such trees in 

 most cases should go to the brush heap 

 and a young orchard take the place of the 

 old. 



Root Pruiiiug 



Root pruning is seldom necessary in 

 American orcharding. In cooler, damper 

 climates it is of some value in dwarf- 

 ing trees and in bringing them into fruit. 

 To prune the roots is to cut off the food 

 supply and thereby starve the tree. This 

 drastic treatment is sometimes recom- 

 mended for the orchards of this region 

 but it is extremely doubtful if properly 

 pruning the top. good tillage or less se- 

 vere measures than cutting the roots will 

 not bring about the same results without 

 permanently weakening the trees as does 

 root pruning. This applies to pruning 

 the roots of mature trees and not to the 

 fantastic notion set forth by Stringfel- 

 low 10 or 12 years ago that young trees 

 are best transplanted by cutting the roots 

 back to a stub. Until nature reverses the 

 laws of plant-growth, tree planters had 

 much better continue setting trees with 

 a root system ready to perform its func- 

 tion naturally and normally even though 

 a plant pruned to a stub may grow, and 

 under exceptional conditions may grow 

 well. 



Tlie Work of Pniiiing' 



Each man must select his own pruning 

 paraphernalia — as ladders, knives, saws 

 and shears. Occasionall.v you see a man 

 pruning with an ax. Now an ax is a 

 good tool for some purposes but it is not 

 of much value in pruning. A sharp 

 knife in the hands of an expert is a 

 better tool than shears, but the amateur 

 had much better stick to shears. 



The cut in pruning should always be 

 made parallel with the trunk and as close 

 as possible. One of the most elementary 

 rules of pruning is that the cut should 

 be made just beyond a healthy lateral 

 branch, and yet in the average orchard 

 the rule is violated more often than it 

 is followed. The reason for so cutting 

 is plain. The lateral branch is stimu- 



