78 POMOLOGY 



The leader or pyramidal type has a continuous central axis 

 from which its limbs are developed, much as in the pines. 

 The limbs are strongly attached and the loss of any individual 

 scaffold branch is of slight importance compared with the 

 same loss in an open tree, but it is not so desirable as the 

 semi-leader or delayed open center tree. The branches in 

 such a tree also are likely to crowd, and the resulting fruit is 

 often small and of poor color. Fig. 23, c. 



The "two-story" tree, so called because it has one distinct 

 set of scaffold branches superimposed over another, is in use 

 in some orchard regions and has its advocates. This type has 

 the advantage of a large bearing surface and strongly at- 

 tached limbs. However, the limbs of the upper scaffold may 

 hang down over those of the lower and make proper pruning 

 difficult. Unequal growth of one or the other of the sets of 

 branches may result in a dwarfing and ultimate starving of 

 the weaker ones. These conditions should be carefully 

 guarded against and a wise selection of limbs about the 

 entire length of the central axis, rather than two distinct sets 

 of scaffold branches, would do much to prevent these ob- 

 jections. Fig. 23, d. 



72. Obtaining the ideal. — Anyone who has attempted to 

 train a block of trees into a form chosen as the pattern has 

 learned that it is impossible to secure uniform results with 

 all the trees. Some varieties are much more difficult to train 

 than others and the orchardist can only adhere as closely to 

 his ideal as the growth of the trees will permit. 



73. Fruiting system of the tree. — Fundamental to any 

 pruning method must be a clear understanding of the habit of 

 the tree in fruit-bearing. This subject, however, has been 

 discussed for the various fruits in a foregoing chapter and 

 need not be repeated here. 



74. Effect of pruning on size and development of trees.^ 

 It is conceded that the form of the young tree is of great 



