1442 



PRUKING 



ing branches receive a greater proportion of tlie plant's 

 energy, and tliey tlierefore make stronger growth or are 

 more productive in flowers and fruit. Pruning is essen- 

 tially a thinning process. 



In itself pruning is not a devitalizing process; it is 

 only devitalizing when it is carried to fxcrss or when 



ment to l.c .li-inimtr,! i.. ihc ,■• 

 plant. Th,- nntn.,, ll... rnnnn. 

 from false auiihn;- ■' ■ 'i :.:i;'i :il 



injury when p:tri 



is not a devitali. 

 The tree is a r.r.i : , . 



number of brauL-h.j- un i1m -. ..li; 

 row or in the furt-st, :nHl ili< n r 

 branches, with the except ion ,,i 

 probably perish in the eeui^e .ii 

 develops a bole because tlie side I 

 by natural causes. Fig. 19G4. Ki 

 ture's pruning. In the greater 

 limbs die and are removed when 

 they leave small record in the gra 

 visible knots are liisturios of i 

 branches. As a rule, ii i, only w 

 knot-holes that iii,iui\ le^uit^. : 



nioi ihr uoe.u hut all 

 lie reiuovul "1 large 

 leu the knots become 

 I knot-hole means de- 

 into the heart of the 



cay, and this deeay iii:i> 



tree, finally cau.siny it to l.i .duie hollow. A lilnek or 



decayed heart is always an iieliratioii oi' disease. The 



disease originates on th I t-i.leoi' tlo]ihiiii, it is the 



result of inoculation. 'I'liis ino. ni.ii ion lakr, |.|ae( 

 through some bruised or l.roken jiaM; it is usually an 

 inoculation of filamentous fungi. These fungi gain a 

 foothold in the dead and dying cells of the wound, and 

 as they grow they are able to destroy the living cells and 

 therefore to produce decay. The larger the woiind, the 

 greater is the liability to infection. It is very important, 

 therefore, in the pruning of trees, that the wounds shall 

 be as small as possible. This means that the best 

 pruning is that which is practiced annually, so that 

 none ot the branches to be removed attain large size. 

 This annual pruning is also most desirable for other 

 reasons, as may be seen below. 



Woody plants should always be pruned when they are 



transplanted. This is because the roots are pruned in 



the very process of removal, 



I and the tops should be re- 



,1 duced in proportion. For 



some time after the plant is 



jl transplanted, it has no vital 



tion with the soil. 



PRUNING 



and also on the personal ideals and desires of the opera- 

 tor. It is a general practice to cut back the top of a 

 plant at least one-half upon transplanting ; in some 

 cases still more of the top is removed. Quite another 

 question is the particular form in which the top shall 

 be left. Some grow- 

 <rs prefer to remove 

 all side branches, 

 if it is a fruit tree, 

 and leave a straight 

 v.lnp. l-'i- 1'h;-. They 



with very young 

 trees, and it is one 

 that is nearly always 

 employed with peach 

 trees. If the trees are 

 three years old and 

 well branched, most 

 persons prefer to 

 leave three or four 

 of the main branches 

 to form the starting 

 point of the future 

 ton. Fi^'. llMi6. These 



and if all the top is allowed to remain there is much 

 evaporation from it and a dissipation of the energies of 

 the plant. How much of the top shall be removed de- 

 pends on how much of the roots was removed in digging, 



liea.led l.aek half or 

 more of their length. 

 (If late years a 

 method of very 

 vere pruning 

 come into notice un- 

 der the name of the 

 Stringfellow or stub- 

 root system, taking 

 its name from H. M. 

 Stringfellow ot 

 Texas, who has writ- 



will lie louiiil m ills ]957_ Young apple tree. 



'.""^" \*' ' ' ^^, .'*'" The marks show which limbs 



tieulliire. II advises m.-iy be removed to advantage. 



the roots he.mtaway and that the top l.e shortened to a 



it is the'suppositioii tliat when tVees are reduced to their 

 lowest terms in this wav. the new rootdu-anches that 

 arise will take a more uatunil form and the tree will 

 assume more of the root character of a seedling. This 

 method of transplanting has met with good success in 

 many places. The fundamental theories on which it is 

 founded, however, have not been demonstrated. This 

 system is, in fact, a matter of local practice rather than 

 of principle. In a great majority of cases, it will be 

 found to he better, particularly in trees that are three 

 year- or more old to prune them only moderately, allow- 

 in^ 1 part of the origmal root system and a part of the 

 t ip to remain 



Piuninq Fiuit Tiees —Fruit trees are pruned for 

 till inn pose of enabling them to produce a superior 

 ipiilit} of fiuit lhe> are not pruned primarily to 

 mike them issumt am definite or preconceived shape. 

 It IS best IS 1 lule to dlow each variety of tree to take 

 Its own nituril u normal form, only pruning it suffi- 

 11 iitl\ til I shape IS concerned, to remove any un- 



II ltd 1 1111 Miim trical growths. 



Ill 111 liinlimcntal conception in the pruning of 

 liuit ti 1 1 ledme the struggle for existence, so 



III It the icmuum„ parts may produce larger and finer 



(2) The result of pruning fruit trees should be to 

 keep the tree in bearing condition, not to force it into 

 such condition. If the tree has received proper care 

 from the time it is planted, it should come into bearing 

 when it reaches the age of puberty. Pruning, therefore, 

 is merely a corrective process and keeps the tree in 

 proper bearing condition. When trees have been much 



