CHAPTER V 

 PRUNING 



The pruning of plants received attention by the earliest 

 writers on horticultural subjects, and throughout the lit- 

 erature of horticulture it has a very prominent place. The 

 instruction or advice given consisted largely in detailing 

 methods to pursue in order to obtain the ideally shaped 

 tree and hence was concerned with the art of pruning 

 rather than with the effect on the functions of the plant. 

 The European literature on the subject is voluminous and 

 is usually accompanied by well-prepared drawings of the 

 various methods employed. Much of the present teaching 

 in this country can be traced to that source. The European 

 gardeners have often gone to extremes in training trees into 

 unusual forms and this in particular has found its way into 

 the literature of that continent. In commenting on the 

 extent to which tradition has influenced the opinions in 

 regard to pruning, Bedford and Pickering aptly say: "Prun- 

 ing as an art does not lend itself very freely to scientific 

 investigation and where scientific investigation can be 

 brought to bear on it the teachings of the artist have not 

 always been confirmed. " ^ 



It is only comparatively recently that experiments planned 

 in sufficient detail have been undertaken to study the effect 

 of pruning on the nutrition of the tree and even now it 

 cannot be said that there is full agreement as to the re- 

 sponses that result. The art of pruning is interwoven with 



1 Science and Fruit Growing. Macmillan and Co., London. 1919. 

 p. 57. 



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