290 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



winds and their trunljs are not so likely to 

 be affected by "sun scald." 



The best time to settle this question is 

 at the time of selecting the nursery stock. 

 Much may be done, however, in the way of 

 severe heading-in. Many trees that were 

 originally low headed have become high 

 headed owing to the close planting and 

 crowding. The only treatment for such a 

 condition is to cut out half of the trees 

 and "dehorn" the remaining ones. 



Some varieties, like Sutton and Yellow 

 Transparent, are naturally upright grow- 

 ers and are kept down only by very careful 

 and persistent treatment. In the first 

 place the trees of such varieties cannot 

 be headed too low. The branches should 

 be started at, or very near, the surface 

 of the ground. Much may be done during 

 the first few years by careful training, 

 cutting back the successive annual 

 growths to about one-third of their length 

 and always cutting back to a bud or 

 branch pointing outward or downward. 

 The greatest progress will be made after 

 the trees commence to bear, for at this 

 time the weight of a crop tends to bring 

 the branches down. The im]iortant point, 

 therefore, is to induce fruit-bearing as 

 early as possible. Summer pruning, as 

 described under another head, is probably 

 the most effective way of Inducing fruit- 

 fulness. 



The Open Center 



We hear a great deal these days about 

 the tree with the open center. The object 

 of the open center in apple trees is to ad- 

 mit more sunlight and in this way produce 

 more highly-colored fruit. Inasmuch as 

 the greater part of the fruit is borne on 

 the surface of the tree, the important 

 point is to develop as far as possible a 

 tree with the maximum surface exposed 

 to the light. A tree with a broad cone- 

 shaped top probably gives the greatest ex- 

 posed area, and this is in opposition to 

 the open center idea. While opening up 

 the center will likely give additional col- 

 or to a few apples in the center of the tree 

 and will admit of a better circulation of 

 air, it is a question whether it would not 

 be better to open the tree moderately on 

 all sides. If it is good to open up the 

 top, the same should apply to any portion 



of the tree. In sections where trees are 

 likely to "scald" the open center exposes 

 the branches to the direct rays of the 

 sun, and for this reason is objectionable. 

 While the writer does not approve of open 

 center methods as practiced by the extrem- 

 ist, he favors the removal of the high 

 central leader usually found in neglected 

 trees. In such cases the new growth soon 

 fills up the space and protects the exposed 

 branches from the sun. 



Which Branches Should Be Eemored 



The inexperienced pruner will have 

 trouble in deciding which branches should 

 be cut out and which should be left. Any- 

 one may become proficient in the work if 

 he will study the effects of different kinds 

 of treatment. The most common error is 

 in leaving too much brush on the tree. A 

 tree in winter may seem to be well opened 

 up, but will often appear very different 

 when the tree is in foilage, and the oper- 

 ator should keep this constantly in mind. 

 Removing brush from a tree may greatly 

 reduce the number of apples without re- 

 ducing the yield. In this respect pruning 

 is a thinning process. Trees that are 

 bearing regularly and that are not being 

 over nourished will not require much 

 pruning. This is one reason — and there 

 are many others — why an even growth 

 should be maintained. The branches to 

 be removed are mainly those that inter- 

 fere with other branches. It should be 

 the aim to have an even distribution of 

 branches with abundant space between 

 them for the free circulation of air. In 

 selecting between two branches that in- 

 terfere with one another the most de- 

 sirable one should be retained, keeping 

 in mind convenience in spraying, har- 

 vesting, and the other operations. Other 

 things being equal, the lower one usually 

 should be retained. Besides relieving the 

 crowding, all objectionable cross branches 

 in the center of the tree and all dead and 

 diseased branches should be removed. 

 The rapidly growing shoots, esi)ecially 

 at the top of the tree, should be cut back 

 with a view of maintaining a symmet- 

 rical structure. Water-sprouts around the 

 base of the tree should be removed. 

 Those found on the main branches should 



