PRUNING 79 



importance and pruning should be performed in such a way 

 as to produce the best type of tree when it reaches maturity. 

 Having decided on the form desired, the question arises as to 

 the general effect of pruning on the size of the tree. The 

 position of many writers has been that heavy dormant 

 pruning increases vegetation and that, in order to secure the 

 best specimen, rather severe pruning should be practiced. 

 More recently, however, the inaccuracy of this statement as 

 a general conclusion has been pointed out, although it is 

 conccival)le that the total response in wood growth might 

 not be influenced so much under some conditions as under 

 others and, therefore, a lack of full agreement on this point 

 may develop in the literature. The reason for the dwarfing 

 effect is suggested in a later paragraph. 



The results have varied somewhat when young trees — one 

 to three years old — have received heavy and light pruning, 

 but with older trees the data available at this time make 

 possible rather uniform conclusions. 



Alderman and Auchter^ conducted an expermient in West 

 Virginia with trees of varying age and found that the 

 j^ounger ones produced greater growth when pruned heavily, 

 but after the third year the lightly pruned ones grew the 

 most. (Plate IV.) The general conclusion from this work 

 was that a tree produces new growth in inverse ratio to the 

 amount of wood removed. The following table presents a 

 digest of the data: 



1 The apple as affected by varying degrees of dormant and seasonal 

 pruning. W. Va. Agi. Exp. Sta. Tech. Bull. 158. 1916. 



