380 MANUAL OF TROPICAL AND SUBTROPICAL FRUITS 



more scaffold branches which should be pinched back to make them 

 stocky. These should be spaced some distance apart, the lowest 

 at least eight or ten inches from the ground, and symmetrically 

 arranged on the stem. The following winter the scaffold branches 

 should be shortened to about three-fifths of their length. In the 

 spring the new shoots arising from the scaffold branches (primary 

 branches) should be restricted to two or three per limb. The main 

 stem and frame limbs should be kept free from suckers at all times. 

 The aim in pruning while the tree is young is to induce the formation 

 of a stocky, compact framework. This should be accomplished by the 

 end of the second or third year. 



" After the framework is established all the growth is left and the 

 tree comes into bearing. From this time to the age of 15 or 20 years, 

 the tree increases slowly in size and yield. Pruning after the third year 

 should be confined to a regular removal of all sucker growth arising 

 from the root, and interfering branches as well as dead brush, and an 

 annual thinning out or removal of some of the older branches. This 

 should be done after the leaves fall in winter." 



Propagation of the pomegranate is effected by means of 

 seeds, cuttings, and layers. Seeds can be grown readily, but 

 named varieties cannot be reproduced in this manner. Hodgson 

 writes : 



" The only method of propagation used commercially is by hard- 

 wood cuttings. These will grow in the open ground about as readily 

 as willow cuttings. The stand obtained is very satisfactory and the 

 method used very simple. In February or March hardwood cuttings 

 ten to twelve inches long and one-quarter to a half inch in diameter 

 are cut, usually from the shoots or suckers, and are planted in the open 

 ground in nursery rows. These rows are ordinarily three feet apart 

 and the cuttings spaced eight to ten inches in the row. The cuttings 

 should be thrust almost their entire length into the earth, leaving only 

 the top eye exposed. This eye is forced out and grows into the tree. 

 Cuttings of this sort grow thriftily and are often ready for trans- 

 planting to the orchard or hedge by the following spring, although they 

 are frequently left in the nursery row two seasons. Hardwood cuttings 

 are sometimes cut in the fall and callused in sand over winter, then set 

 out in early spring. This may result in a little earlier growth and 

 consequently a larger tree that season, but is not necessary to insure 

 striking root." 



When grown under good cultural conditions, the plants come 

 into bearing at three or four years of age. The yield is influenced 



