PRUNING. 



65 



of paint, to exclude moisture. The small line in jig. 60 

 shows the point at which the limb should be cut, just at 

 the beginning of the enlargement at its base. 



Fig. 60. 



Some orchardists prefer to leave the stump of the limb 

 which is pruned off about one foot long, to be cut again 

 at the base the first of June. Wounds made at this time 

 heal very rapidly, leaving the wounded surface exposed 

 a shorter time. While for the accomplishment of cer- 

 tain purposes, and for different trees, in which the growth 

 is very unlike, various methods of pruning will be 

 adopted, it will be necessary in all cases to remove dead 

 wood, or crossing branches, which often produce harbors 

 for insects ; to avoid crotches or equal forks, and to ob- 

 tain a well balanced head sufficiently open to admit air 

 and sunlight, without which neither the highest color- 

 ing nor the best quality of fruit can be obtained. Figs. 

 61, 62 and 63 show the directions taken by limbs from 

 buds in different positions. By giving some attention 

 to these results, the shape of trees may be materially al- 

 tered by pruning, rendering very open heads more com- 

 pact, and vice vei'sa. Vacant places can often be supplied 

 by cutting a limb*to a bud which points in the jdesired 



