PRUNING THE APPLE. 



621 



PRUNING.— THE APPLE TREE. 



The Apple tree, left to its natural srowth, 

 forms generally a low stem, brandling out 

 into a top, which ultimately becomes hemi- 

 spherical, toward the outside of which fruit- 

 spurs, leaves, and fiiiit are most abundant : to 

 support these branches interiorly may be con- 

 sidered as a sort of framework, for they are 

 often destitute of spurs or foilage. In pruning 

 and training it is necessaiy to bear this 

 natural tendency of growtli constantly in 

 mind ; for although that tendency may be 

 subdued or diverted to suit the purposes of 

 cultivation, yet it cannot be annihilated while 

 the trees are young, and as vigorous as they 

 ought to be. A tree may be prevented from 

 growing up with a single stem by cutting 

 back ; then several shoots usually result, and 

 these become so many smaller stems, if not 

 interfered with. Like the individual stem, 

 they are not disposed to bear fruit ; their ten- 

 dency is to be merely pillars or supporters of 

 a system of elevated ramifications, at the ex- 

 tremities of which fructification naturally 

 takes place. Being aware of this, the opera- 

 tions of pruning and training necessary to be 

 performed when the tree is to be grown in 

 any particular form different from its natural 

 habit, will be better understood. The modes 

 in which the Apple tree is grown are numer- 

 ous. The principal are, as standards, open 

 dwarfs, pyramids, ti'aiued against espaliers, 

 and against walls. 



A Standard, properly managed, should 

 have a clean, straight, and substantial stem. 

 By substantiality of stem is here meant a 

 structure capable of supporting itself without 

 bending, and hence not requiring the aid of 

 stakes. In general, this property is too little 

 thought of; or at its expense, the other pro- 

 perties are endeavored to be obtained. The 

 following will illustrate this. Supposing it 

 were required to grow an Apple tree with a 

 stem (if such it might be called) fifteen feet 

 in length, yet nowhere more than an inch in 

 diameter ; the way to effect this would be to 

 train a maiden plant to a rod, taking care to 

 allow no side-shoots to grow, nor any leaves, 

 excepting a very few at top. By adopting 

 a similar proceeding year after year, the 

 stem will reach the hight above-mentioned, 

 and be like a slender, flexible rod, almost of 

 uniform thickness, which would instantly 

 bend to the ground on being deprived of its 

 support. It must be considered a work of 

 misapplied art; for nalunilly the plant would 

 have put forth side-shoots and leaves as it 

 advanced; and these leaves would have con- 

 tributed to the formation of layers of wood, 

 increasing the thickness of the base ; thus the 

 stem would have become an elongated cone, 

 a form adapted for self-support. 



From what has been stated, it is obvious 



4hAt the necessity for stakes is owing to the 



im[)roper management of the plant while the 



stem is being reared ; and this again from the 



96t) 



erroneous idea that a sufficiently clean stem 

 cannot be produced uulcss it be sti-ipped of 



