CHAPTER XIII 



PRUNING OF DECIDUOUS TREES 



To go into detail in regard to the whole theory 

 and practice of pruning would require a volume to 

 do full justice to this subject. All that can be 

 attempted here is to give a brief outline of the 

 practice adopted by riverside growers in dealing 

 with the chief varieties of deciduous trees grown 

 under irrigation. 



Briefly stated, the main objects of pruning may 

 be said to be : 



(a) For young trees: to create strong, sturdy, 



well-balanced trees. 



(b) For bearing trees: to 'obtain regular crops of 



good quality fruit for the term of the tree's 

 existence. 



For the stimulation of wood growth the practice 

 of pruning has always been to cut back the top 

 growth, as the sap of the tree, being distributed 

 over fewer buds, will cause more vigorous growth 

 to be made for each new shoot thrown out than 

 would be the case if all the old wood had been left 

 and more new shoots had grown. 



The application of this principle of the weaker 

 the growth the severer the pruning, and the stronger 

 the growth the lesser the cutting back, has an im- 

 portant bearing upon the pruning of deciduous 

 trees as practised upon the irrigation areas where 

 the general growth of trees is generally more vigor- 

 ous than in other districts. 



