production is large enough to encourage the building of 

 packing houses for the handling of any particular product. 

 Another serious mistake on the part of many growers, is to 

 endeavor to harvest enormous crops when their trees are 

 only two or three years old. The result of this unwise 

 policy is in many cases to sacrifice the tree to such an extent 

 that just when it should be bringing profitable returns, it 

 was burdened too heavily when young, and in consequence 

 either dies when it should be in its prime, or it takes years 

 of extraordinary care to restore it to its proper vigor. It is 

 just as much a mistake to expect too much from a young 

 tree, as it is to require a child to do a man's work. The care 

 bestowed for the first two or three years in cultivating, 

 pruning and irrigating, where the rainfall is insufficient to 

 carry the trees through the long dry summer months, is the 

 foundation for the upbuilding of a plant, which will redound 

 to the credit of the owner and give him ample returns for 

 his intelligent care and years of hard work. 



The tendency toward overproduction in young trees is 

 easily eliminated by pruning. Next to thorough cultivation 

 there is nothing which is more vital to the life of a tree than 

 this one thing. It is difficult to lay down specific rules on 

 this point, but there are basic ones which can generally 

 be observed in the handling of most deciduous trees, with 

 some exceptions, and instructions pertaining to such cases 

 will be dwelt on under proper heads. 



After a tree is set never fail to cut it back. This is now 

 the general practice among the most successful orchardists 

 throughout California, and is the result of years of experi- 

 ence. The following winter from three to four branches, 

 properly distributed around the body of the tree, should be 

 allowed to remain to form the head and each one of these 

 branches should have at least one-half of their growth re- 

 moved, cutting away all laterals from them also. These lead- 

 ers will eventually form the frame work of the tree. Above 

 all things do not shorten in a lateral starting near the ter- 

 minal point of any of the branches, unless you wish to have a 

 hideous crook in your tree. It is a great mistake to think that 

 if these small laterals are allowed to remain, the tree will not 

 start. The result of the first year's pruning will cause the 

 trees to make an immense growth and will also induce them 

 to grow stocky. The second winter heavy thinning will have 

 to be followed and the pruning should be done with a view 

 of causing the frame work branches to spread out. After 

 thinning, two-thirds the growth of the current season should 

 be cut off. To the novice this severe cutting seems suicidal, 

 but the results obtained in our own orchards have been 

 so very satisfactory that the soundness of this method can 

 not be questioned. The third year leave from two to three 

 laterals properly distributed on each of the main stems, 

 but they in turn should be cut back at least one half, or even 

 more, depending on the growth. It is safe to assume that 

 the trees in the fourth year have reached an age when 

 they should bring ample returns, still pruning should be care- 

 fully followed out each season. Failure to prune severely 

 when the trees are young means that there will be a lot of 

 long spindling branches, with practically all the new growth 

 at the tip ends. A heavy crop may be harvested the third 

 year, but the branches will bend down under their heavy 

 load, become sunburned and even break off in some cases, 

 thus sacrificing a tree to the rapacity of a grower, who in 

 his eagerness to harvest a crop has killed the "goose that 

 lays the golden egg." The many advantages of this method 

 of pruning are (1) It makes a low crowned and a more 

 stocky tree, affording an umbrageous head, and thus protect- 

 ing it from the hot rays of the scorching summer sun; (2) 

 it enhances the carrying capacity of the tree, thus avoiding 

 artificial props when maturing a crop of fruit; (3) it expe- 

 dites the harvesting of the crop, by rendering it more acces- 

 sible to the pickers, thus economizing time and expense; (4) 

 it prolongs the life of the tree by reason of conserving its 

 vital forces, and rendering it less liable to damage in the 

 breaking of Timbs and taxing its strength by carrying its 

 fruits "close in." 



THE APPLE 



In the temperate zone no variety of fruit is so widely 

 distributed or has been more extensively planted than the 

 apple. The list of varieties is amazing. "Downing's Fruits" 

 alone lists about 3,500 sorts. Following out the rule, we 

 have scaled down our list of varieties, cataloging only such 

 kinds having distinct characteristics and of value either 

 for home use or from a commercial standpoint. New varie- 

 ties are never added to our list, unless we are convinced they 

 possess points which make them worthy of cul- 

 tivation. Varieties are variable as to localities 

 and in planting in sections where apple culture is 

 pursued commercially, the advice as to the best 

 varieties to plant should be sought from experi- 

 enced growers. Broadly speaking, the hot in- 

 terior valleys are not suitable for commercial 

 apple culture on a large scale, as the very rapid 



