86 FRUIT-GROWING 



growth consisting of lengthening of many twigs 

 all over the tree. 



It has been said that pruning was closely re- 

 lated to bearing, in an apple tree. The rela- 

 tions between pruning and bearing are not well 

 understood. No one knows why it takes a 

 young apple tree from five to ten years to 

 "come into bearing." Theoretically the young 

 tree is simply a scion from an older tree in- 

 serted on a root and made into a new individ- 

 ual. If the scion had remained on the original 

 tree it would have produced fruit in a year or 

 two at the most. Why, then, does it not pro- 

 duce fruit in a year or two after it is inserted 

 in the root in the nursery? Probably because 

 the insertion in the new root, the provision of 

 a new supply of sap, the new environment in 

 the soil, all combine to promote a vigorous 

 growth of new wood — which in time forms our 

 new tree. And we know that as long as new 

 wood is being formed in large quantities the 

 tree shows little inclination to bear fruit. 



The formation of wood is what we call vege- 

 tative growth and any plant in which vegeta- 

 tive growth is taking place vigorously will not 

 reproduce itself by fruiting. It is only when 

 the period of great vigor of vegetative growth 

 has passed that any plant begins to turn its at- 

 tention to the production of seeds. This is as 

 true of the apple as it is of the lowest forms of 



