PRUNING YOUNG TREES 



215 



The amount of pruning that trees, which have just 

 come into bearing will stand, will, of course, vary greatly 

 with their vigor. The soil, the climate, and the variety 

 should all be taken into consideration. There is a great 

 difference in the bearing habits of trees. The amount of 

 pruning which regular bearers, like Jonathan, Wagener, 

 Winesap, Grimes, etc., 

 will stand will vary 

 considerably as com- 

 pared with the pruning 

 that Yellow Newtown, 

 Northern Spy, Bald- 

 win, Tompkins King or 

 varieties of their habit 

 of growth will stand. 

 As a general rule, the 

 growers of Yellow 

 Newtown on the heav- 

 ier soils of Oregon are 

 making a mistake with 

 their young trees. In 

 almost all cases they 

 are over-pruning, cut- 

 ting their trees so hard 

 that whatever tendency 

 the trees may have to 

 bear is directed into 

 other channels. 



The directions given 

 so far apply chiefly to 

 apple pruning. Never- 

 theless, the recommendations apply equally well to all 

 deciduous fruits and nuts, such as prunes, pears, cherries 

 and walnuts. A few special recommendations, however, 

 may be given for fruits other than apples. 



173. Recommendations for pears. Growers generally 

 feel that it is harder to fight the blight with the leader 



FIG. 179 SPLENDID DISTRACTION OF 

 FRAME BRANCHES ON FOUR-VEAR 

 APPLE TREE 



