CHAPTER X 

 PROPER PRUNING 



Could all fruit trees be treated by the same plan or set of rules, 

 pruning would be a simple operation. But the different fruits have 

 different habits of growth, and trees of the same variety differ in 

 their development even under similar conditions. No two trees are 

 alike in all respects. Pruning, then, to be well done should meet 

 the needs of each tree. 



The knowledge a pruner should have. If the many thousands 

 of fruit trees set out each year are to develop properly, they must 

 be pruned annually. The development of a tree depends largely on 

 the cultivation given, the amount of plant food supplied, and the 

 character of the pruning. Of these factors in the life of the tree, 

 pruning is the most economical and the most neglected. But the 

 pruner, to do his work well, must have some knowledge of the 

 character of growth of the different varieties to be pruned and 

 of the principles that underlie such work. The application of 

 these principles must be worked out for each tree by a study of 

 its individual needs. 



Why we prune. There are many reasons for pruning. The 

 primary result to be secured is such an improvement of the tree 

 that it will produce better fruit and more of it. The time is past 

 when we can set out trees and leave them to shift for themselves, 

 and expect finally to be rewarded by abundant harvests of high- 

 grade fruit. 



If we go into orchards where little or no pruning has been done, 

 we find limbs crowded closely together, dense tops, branches dead 

 or dying and in all states of weakness. We find the sunlight shut 

 out, — although sunshine, probably more than anything else, influ- 

 ences the color of the fruit, — poor air circulation, large numbers 

 of insects and fungi, and a large amount of inferior fruit. We prune, 

 then, to change these conditions, although we must remember that 



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