410 



PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PRUNING 



in these orchards the trees in most cases had merely been 

 neglected; they had not been butchered (Figs. 61, 201 to 

 204) so that their trunks and main branches had decayed 

 heartwood. No, they were mostly sound to the center. 



318. Renovated orchards quicker to respond than 

 young trees. When conditions such as these exist, it is 

 often if not usually possible to secure profitable returns 

 in a shorter time (fewer years) than when a new orchard 

 of the same kinds of fruit is set. Of course, the younger 



FIG. 320 TREES AFTER CUTTING. RUBBISH HAULED AWAY 



the trees and the better they have been trained for the 

 first few years, the more likely is success to be achieved 

 and the longer are they likely to continue profitable under 

 good management. With apple, pear and sweet cherry 

 trees that are sound it is often well worth attempting to 

 rejuvenate specimens fifty to seventy-five years old, or 

 even older in exceptional cases ; but if badly made 

 wounds have resulted in rotting of the heart wood, trees 

 may be worthless for rejuvenation when only fifteen or 



