370 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PRUNING 



to restrict the growth, the greater the need of summer pruning 

 and the greater the amount necessary. There is, however, much 

 divergence of opinion as to methods in summer pruning. Scarcely 

 any two authorities on growing dwarf trees agree as to the amount 

 of wood to be taken out or the proper time to do the work. 



Some growers use the knife and shears, while others say that 

 pinching back with finger and thumb suffices. All agree that the 

 practice must be largely regulated by season, soil, health of tree, 

 age of tree and the variety. The difficulties in the way of laying 

 down rules that would be fair in this comparative test of 26 va- 

 rieties of apples on three stocks, three distinct soils and in three 

 somewhat different climates, are patent to anyone who has tried 

 to prune in the summer. 



The winter pruning of the trees, though more difficult than in 

 training standard trees, gave comparatively little trouble. It con- 

 sisted of cutting out crossed branches, surplus branches and, of 

 course, such few as were injured or diseased. It was necessary 

 to head back the wood on Paradise and Doucin trees more severely, 

 depending upon the variety rather than on the standards, otherwise 

 the pruning was much the same on all. 



For the first two seasons but little summer pruning was attempted, 

 the trees being small and none too vigorous. Then began a series 

 of experiments, no one of which proved satisfactory. Suffice to 

 say, in the light of ten seasons' work with dwarf apples, the train- 

 ing of the plants is the most difficult and the least satisfactory 

 operation in growing these trees. Indeed, it is hardly too much to 

 say that if dwarf apples must be headed back or pinched in during 

 the growing season, it is impossible to grow them in the trying 

 climate of New York. 



In no one of the attempts at summer pruning have we been able 

 wholly to avoid weak, spindling second growths which would not 

 mature and succumb to the cold of the next winter. When it 

 was thought that reasonable success in time and manner of summer 

 pruning had been attained one season, sooner or later identical 

 treatment proved a failure because of some decided difference in 

 weather when the work was repeated. \Ye have been forced to con- 

 clude that the great variations in temperature and moisture in the 

 summer and the cold winters in New York almost or quite debar 

 the summer pruning practiced in the Old World. 



