Pruning Pears, Plums and PeacKes 



Joseph T-weddle, Truitland, Ontario 



PRUNE pears according to the 

 previous season's growth, to the 

 amount of fruit buds in sight, and 

 to the prevalence or prospect of fire 

 blight. In our own practice we first cut 



ditions and find a tree with strong, 

 thriftv, new wood with probably few 

 fruit buds. In such cases we pursue the 

 opposite course, thinning only for light 

 and air and as much fruit as we can get 



Pruning Plums in the Niagara Peninsula 



Orchard of Joseph Twcddic, Fruitland, Ontario. Note that w.igons are 

 used instead of ladders. 



out any existing blight well below the 

 affected parts, using continuously, a five 

 per cent, solution of carbolic acid for 

 disinfecting the tools and also the cuts 

 to avoid carrving the infection from 

 diseased to healthy parts. Then we 

 start a gang, consisting of a competent 

 foreman and three men mounted on 

 two single fruit wagons, as shown in 

 the illustration, one rig on each side 

 of the row, the foreman overseeing and 

 directing the work and at the same time 

 [jruning his share of the tree. He cor- 

 rects mistakes and quickly teaches 

 the men with him the "why and how" 

 to prune into proper shape the vary- 

 ing forms and conditions of each tree. 



We may approach a tree with very 

 little new growth and set too full of 

 fruit buds. Such a tree probably would 

 let so nuich fruit (if left unpruned) that 

 ilie whole crop would be so far below 

 normal or good size that all would be 

 ■insaleable. We thin this crop by 

 pruning back to reduce the fruit buds 

 fully thirty to forty per cent. Then we 

 thin freely to give light and air, and to 

 ^hape the tree generally. 



We may come to the opposite con- 



by leaving all the buds possible. If 

 we pruned this tree as we did the former, 



we would get an overgrowth of wood 

 and but little fruit. Every fruit spur 

 would grow a shoot one to two feet in 

 length and the tree would set no more 

 fruit buds for two years or more. Such 

 a condition of growth invites fire blight. 



All intermediate conditions of growth 

 and fruit buds occur between the two 

 extremes aforementioned. They should 

 be pruned with the same purpose in 

 view; that is, to balance the tree for a 

 fair crop of good fruit. 



Peach and plum trees are pruned by 

 the same rules except that heavy prun- 

 ing does not hinder fruit bud setting 

 and that we prune much more severely, 

 heading back nearly all the twigs so as 

 to get large fruit by leaving only fifty 

 per cent, of the fruit buds. Even a 

 small branch overlooked in pruning will 

 produce small fruit. 



We find that the use of wagons is a 

 great advantage over ladders. All our 

 tools are carried on the wagons, which 

 can be moved quickly from tree to tree. 

 We use small fruit decks with one board 

 out in the centre to vary our height as 

 needed. Quiet horses are used with 

 blankets under the harness. We gain 

 twenty-five per cent in time by the use 

 of wagons. 



The culture of grapes for market is an 

 industry that is assuming large propor- 

 tions in some sections of Canada, par- 

 ticularly in the Niagara district. For 

 the benefit of beginners, experienced 

 grape growers are requested to con- 

 tribute letters and articles for publica- 

 tion in The Canadian Horticulturist 

 on their methods of growing. 



A Hand Power Goulds Sprayer at Work Spraying Large Trees. 



SI 



