38 BIGGU3 ORCHARD BOOK 



evaporation from so many points will result in disas- 

 trous drying of the whole tree. 



That can be avoided by cutting back the top to 

 correspond with the roots, thus reducing evaporation 

 to the point where they can supply the loss. In the 

 case of the yearling whip without side branches, it is 

 sufficient to cut it off at the height at which it is 

 intended the leader shall start out say about two or 



three feet above ground. 

 Always cut to a bud, 

 making a sloping cut 

 which leaves not more 

 than a quarter of an 

 inch projecting beyond 



TOO HIGH TOO LOW CORRECT the ^^ ^UTing the 



.. ,, summer all the buds 



CUTTING " TO " A BUD 



along the side will de- 

 velop branches ; all the lower ones and those not in- 

 tended to form the main framework of the tree must 

 be pinched off, otherwise the lower branches may 

 make a shrub of your tree. Aim to throw all the 

 strength of the growth into the required main 

 branches. 



Branched, or two-year-old trees, require a different 

 style of pruning after being set. The lower limbs 

 have generally been cut off by the nurserymen before 

 the tree reaches the planter, so the height of the 

 "head" is, in a sense, already fixed. What remains 

 to be done is to choose three, four or five limbs to 

 form the future framework of the tree. These should 

 come out from the trunk in different directions, dis- 

 tributed as evenly as possible ; and, if feasible, no 



