178 FRUIT-GROWING 



pruning will consist of shortening in the new 

 growth and removing those branches that seem 

 to crowd. American and European plums re- 

 quire much less pruning. In fact there are 

 growers who advocate almost no pruning on 

 these sorts, but the most successful grower 

 starts his trees as a stub and each year removes 

 enough to keep the trees fairly open to allow 

 plenty of air circulation among the branches. 

 Some European plums have the bad habit of 

 climbing skyward like a Lombardy poplar and 

 these are the despair of the grower who desires 

 low heads. In some cases the tendency can be 

 corrected by removing the leader and forcing 

 the growth to the lateral branches, but usually 

 the European plum is a strong-headed individ- 

 ual and will make a graceful spire in spite of 

 our desires to the contrary. 



Cherries are pruned much less than are 

 plums. The older growers sometimes ad- 

 vocated no pruning at all, but present practice 

 recognizes the value of systematic thinning of 

 the tops to allow sunlight and air to enter. The 

 initial pruning at planting time varies some- 

 what from that of other fruits. Instead of 

 being cut back to the conventional stub the 

 cherry tree should be thinned so as to leave a 

 few of the stronger side branches. These 

 branches carry strong buds from which growth 

 starts more easily than it would from the semi- 



