STATE POMOLOGICAL SO'^IETT. 85 



the root, aud iu pruuiug we oiust be careful not to destroy it. You waut 

 to pruue just as little from the top as you can ; form your top while 

 the tree is young. It is impossible to always tell just how your top is 

 growinoj, and j'ou will not know when is the best time to cut it. If you 

 cut in the growing season, when the tree is full in life, you are throwing 

 away just so much of your machinerj', which is needed for the growth 

 of your root and top, and you have checked the growth of the tree. 

 Therefore prune in the dormant state. After the tree stops its growth 

 in the fall remove the limbs that it is absolutely necessary to remove, 

 and then you are doing less damage than at any other time. Then in 

 the spring the sap flows up into the remaining limbs, and you get a 

 larger growth than you would before you cut those awa}^ But if you 

 prune in full life j-ou have checked the growth of the tree, and caused it 

 to form more fruit buds. Therefore to check the growth and get more 

 fruit buds prune in full life; for growth, prune in the dormant state, iu 

 the fall or before the buds begin to swell in the spring. 



Remark. There is one thought that Mr. Pope usually brings out that 

 he did not give you to-day, aud that is iu relation to thinning the fruit. 

 It seemed to me to be very important to know that he got about the 

 same ciuantity of fruit and very much larger fruit than he would have 

 without thinning, and also spared his tree fully one-half, we might say, 

 because the large amount of nourishment that it takes to develop the 

 seed takes the strength out of the tree. So you see if the tree has to 

 develop only one-half as much seed you gain that strength in your tree. 

 Mr. Hale brought up the point that the tree should bear every year. It 

 will do this if you do not let your tree get so weak that it cannot set 

 fruit buds. I have had trees that were in the habit of bearing fruit every 

 other year, and by giving them thorough cultivation and thinning the 

 fruit judiciouslj' thej- commenced to bear ever}' j'ear ; and I believe we 

 can accomplish that to a greater or less extent by carefully thinning the 

 fruit and not allowing the tree 'to over-bear and get in a weakened con- 

 dition. AVe maj' not get large crops every year, but the prospect is that 

 we will get a crop of apples every j-ear. I think we ought to consider 

 that point. 



Mr. Pope. I wanted to stir these people up a little, aud let them study 

 up the subject. We cannot remember to bring up all the little points, 

 but we want to get them to study for themselves, to read for themselves, 

 using judgment on what they read and discarding what is worthless. 



The apple is about all water except the seed. The seed is what draws 

 on the soil for potash and phosphoric acid ; therefore as the gentleman 

 says, when you pick off one-half the crop you have relieved the tree to 

 that extent, and the vitality is not injured as it is when the tree is over- 

 loaded. If you have ijicked oft" half of the fruit the other half will be so 

 much larger that j-ou are getting about as many barrels of choice fruit 

 as you would have had ban-els of Xo. 2, and at the same time you have 

 relieved the tree so that it is able to set the buds aud bear fruit the next 

 year. All of the Massachusetts plum and peach growers never think of 



