Established Fruit Trees 



spring at the rate of 8 cwts. per acre, or about 

 4 ounces per square yard. Trees making vigorous 

 wood growth and producing little fruit will benefit 

 immensely by an application of lime. 



4. Excessive winter pruning and wrong manuring 

 are two prolific and common causes of sterility in 

 young trees. (See previous notes on " Summer 

 Pruning," " Root Pruning," and " Mulching.") 



REGRAFTING OLD FRUIT TREES. 



In many gardens there are some big fruit trees 

 which are practically useless. These trees take up a 

 lot of room, remove much food and moisture from 

 the soil, and in return produce either nothing at all 

 or some scrubby little fruits which are hardly 

 worth gathering. 



This lack of decent fruit is generally due to self- 

 sterility or imperfect pollination, to diseases of one 

 kind or another, or it may be simply because the 

 variety is a worthless one. Many people in the old 

 days used to raise trees from the " pips " or seed, 

 and these seldom produce fruit worth having. 



Trees of this kind, if otherwise healthy, may be 

 grafted with scions of a better sort. March is the 

 time to prepare trees for this operation. Trees 

 attacked by Canker, or by Silver-leaf disease, should 

 never be regrafted. 



The branches 'should be cut right back. Three 

 or four limbs should be retained at about equal 

 distances apart, and these should be cut back to 

 a point about 2 feet from the main stem. Other 

 branches should be cut out altogether, especially 

 those in the centre of the tree. 



40 



