Pruning Young Trees 



97 



These limbs could serve no useful purpose, and so only rob 

 the other limbs of plant-food. Such growths are best pre- 

 vented by pinching off the buds early in the season. 



Tree No. 23 failed to throw out enough branches to form 

 a suitable top. The two branches are 

 nearly opposite, so that a bad crotch would 

 soon result. Both branches were cut back 

 to the second bud, as shown in 23 a in the 

 hope of inducing dormant buds to push 

 out lower down. 



Tree No. 24 shows one of this lot of 

 trees that was left unpruned. Notice the 

 weak, spindling growth and short laterals, 

 as compared with the others. There is 

 small chance of making a satisfactory tree 

 from such a specimen, even though it 

 should live. Such illustrations as this, 

 which may be seen on every hand, should 

 prove to any one that all trees should be 

 headed-back when planted, if for no other 

 purpose than to induce a vigorous growth. 



At the close of the season of 1905 the 

 pruned trees had made the growths shown 

 in 21 6, 226, and 23 b. 



Pruning should, of course, be done in 

 late winter or early spring, but these trees 

 were pruned for the purpose of illustra- 

 tion, and the results are shown in 21 c, 22 c, and 23 c. 

 Tree No. 21 has now taken the form shown in 21 c. One 

 of the scaffold limbs seemed to be superfluous, so it was re- 

 moved, and the new growth, shown in Figure 216, was cut 



v 



FIG. 24. Neg- 

 lected. 



