GROWING AND FRUITING HABITS 393 



Number of Scaffold Limbs. — The number of scaffold limbs found in 

 orchard trees varies from 2 to 15 or 20. Neither extreme is desirable. 

 If there are only two or three main scaffold limbs they are almost certain 

 to form crotches that are likely to split and allow one or both parts to 

 break down. A large percentage of the injury resulting from trees break- 

 ing when heavily loaded with fruit or when subjected to severe winds 

 is due indirectly to sharp crotches that could have been avoided by the 

 use of more and better spaced scaffold limbs. Should one limb of a 

 group of three split down, a third of the tree is gone; should one of eight 

 be lost, most of the tree still remains and the injury, which is much less 

 likely to happen, is more readily repaired. On the other hand too many 

 scaffold limbs, as 10 to 12, give rise to thick, brushy tops that make 

 work in them difficult. A moderate number, five to eight, makes a 

 tree that is mechanically strong and at the same time open enough to 

 facilitate necessary orchard operations. 



Distribution of Scaffold Limbs. — Of still greater importance than the 

 number of scaffold limbs is their distribution. When they come out from 

 the trunk at points close together, as for instance, when the upper one of 

 five is onl}^ 8 or 10 inches above the lowest they form bad crotches much 

 sooner than if they are distributed over a longer distance on the trunk. 

 When they are distributed over 11^ or 2 feet of the trunk each limb has 

 a chance to make more or less " shoulder;" weak crotches with subsequent 

 splitting are avoided. It may require a little attention to select and 

 develop scaffold limbs that are separated well from one another, on 

 account of the tendencj^ of the tree to make its most vigorous growth 

 from buds near the end of the trunk or near the extremities of its branches 

 but it is well worth while. Furthermore, it should be remembered that 

 the distribution of these limbs is determined once and for all by the first 

 two or three prunings and no amount of later work will entirely correct 

 a mistake made then. If a tree is headed at a height of 33 to 36 inches 

 it is possible to have a good number of well-distributed limbs and at the 

 same time have a low-headed tree. One of the main advantages of the 

 "modified leader" type of training is the opportunity for a wide spacing 

 of the scaffold limbs. 



Ope7i and Closed-centered Trees. — There has been much discussion over 

 the relative merits of open-centered or vase-shaped and close-centered 

 or leader trees. Both forms have their advocates. Both are extensively 

 used and both are successful — good evidence that the exact form in which 

 trees are trained is a matter of secondary importance from the standpoint 

 of production. Theoretically at least, the open-centered method of 

 training admits more sunlight and thus enables the fruit to attain a 

 higher color than is possible in the closed-centered tree, though in reality 

 the tree that is started with the open center is often allowed to become 

 more thick-topped than many "leader" trees. Obviously, this is a 



