The Canadian Horticulturist 325 



Spraying in the early spring with copper sulphate compounds for the purpose of 

 preventing the plum rot, or Monilia, of the fruit, may also prevent the develop- 

 ment of the shot hole fungus. 



ROOT PRUNING. 



49-^. Sir, — ^Will you kindly tell me in the next issue how far from the trunk of 

 apple trees should I prune the roots. The trees are twenty years old, Kings, and very large. 



0. F, BuRCHARD, Kings Court, Ont. 



This is very little practised by horticulturists in Ontario, and the operation 

 is one that should be attempted with considerable caution. The danger lies in 

 too much lessening the vigor of the trees by cutting off those roots by which 

 supplies are taken in for its growth and development. If the roots are over- 

 pruned, the life of the tree will be shortened. The benefit consists in checking 

 the over-luxuriant wood growth, in order that the elements of nourishment, which 

 are stored up in the tree, may be diverted to the formation of fruit buds. The 

 same end is accomplished by grafting the trees on dwarf stock, as when a pear 

 tree is grafted on the quince, or an apple tree on Paradise stock, and by summer 

 pruning of the top. In England, where gardening is a higher art than here, root 

 pruning has been much practised. 



Root pruning should be done in the autumn or early winter. A trench is 

 dug around the tree, at a distance from the trunk proportioned to the size of 

 the tree. If begun when young, the tree may be so dwarfed that it will never 

 become large ; but, in the case of our correspondent, where the trees have 

 grown twenty years and must be very large, the trench should be at least 10 or 

 15 feet from the trunk The exact distance in each case will need to be left to 

 the judgment of the operator. The roots should thus be laid bare, and, if found 

 to be destitute of fibres, the leaders should be cut off in order to produce fibrous 

 growth. 



Mr. Rivers, an English nurseryman, who practises this root pruning yearly, 

 with his apple and pear trees, sometimes makes them prolific dwarfs, growing 

 only six feet apart, and producing abundantly. But Mr. Downing is of the 

 opinion that, in this country, a single pruning is all that will be required to bring 

 over-luxuriant trees into a fruitful condition. 



Should our correspondent be successful in bringing his King apple trees 

 into a state of productiveness, by giving them a thorough root pruning, the result 

 will be worth making public through our journal. The great objection to this 

 variety is its unproductiveness. Some say that, if top-grafted upon the Talman 

 Sweet, the King becomes productive ; but very few of the orchards of this 

 variety have been so grafted, and, consequently, we will be glad if root pruning 

 will accomplish the desired end. 



