PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PRUNING 



for which to strive as in pruning. Fruit plants are so 

 open to accidents of cultivation, storm, disease and insect 

 attack that it is often impossible to secure, much less 

 maintain, an absolutely ideal specimen, yet the ideal fruit 

 plant, each for its variety or species, must be held tena- 

 ciously in the pruner's mind, or 

 his mechanical skill will count 

 for naught, and the plants he 

 prunes will necessarily be un- 

 even in appearance, develop- 

 ment, prolificacy or some other 

 important point or points. 

 With a clear ideal constantly 

 held while at work he may 

 constantly approach even ap- 

 proximate realization of his de- 

 sires, and will be able to 

 counteract undesirable ten- 

 dencies and to direct the ener- 

 gies of the plant in the right 

 direction. With no plants is 

 this more important than with 

 young ones. This fact is well 

 illustrated by many popular 

 proverbs ; for instance, "As 

 the twig is bent, so the tree in- 

 clines." 



3. Defective pruning may result in one or more of four 

 general classes of undesirable ways: 1. The average 

 annual crop may be. small because of insufficient fruit 

 buds, delayed bearing, irregularity of development, or 

 imperfect utilization of vigor. 2. The quality of the fruit 

 may be inferior because of over-bearing, especially of 

 weak plants, irregular distribution of the fruit, and con- 

 sequently more or less irregular ripening and injurious 

 contact of the fruits with each other, with twigs, branches 



FIG. 3 TREE TOO HIGH- 

 HEADED 



. This man is 5 feet 10 inches 

 tall. He is reaching over 7 feet. 

 Note also that branches start 

 mainly from one point unde- 

 sirable. 



