STARTING THE HEAD LOW 217 



young orchard contains a lot of stubs sticking 

 out of the ground to a height not exceeding 

 two feet. During the first season's growth these 

 stubs will develop numerous branches, almost 

 every bud will start, and what was lately a stub 

 will become a little forest of shoots. [See Fig. 

 141] . ^ * * Allow every limb and every leaf 

 to develop to its fullest extent. Remember that 

 the leaves are to a tree what our lungs and 

 blood are to us, its very life. And every leaf 

 you deprive the tree of in summer is robbing 

 it of its tissue-forming organs. Without leaf 

 action there can be no root action ; and the 

 fullest development in root and branch can only 

 be secured by religiously preserving the foliage. 



"We will proceed to prune our tree for the 

 srroud time. The switch that you planted and 

 headed back last year has developed a number 

 of shoots, may be five or six, but more often fif- 

 teen or twenty. From these select from three to 

 five of the strongest, best ripened limbs (cutting 

 out all the rest), at the same time exercising 

 care to have them evenly fill the space around 

 and above the tree. Observe carefully that no 

 two limbs emerge from the trunk opposite each 

 other, forming what is known as a crotch. A 

 ci-otch in an old tree is always an evil, causing 

 a weak spot, where the tree will be likely to 

 break down or split during a heavy fruit crop. 

 The remedy is in your own hands; when you 



