ORCHARD NOTES. 79 



many farmers who grow a few apples as a side issue. Almost 

 every day, otherwise good fruit is brought to market in this 

 careless manner. It is frequently the man who handles fruit in 

 this way who complains that fruit growing is not a profitable 

 feature of his farm work. 



Pears are frequently injured by being left on the trees too 

 long. These should be gathered just as soon as they will part 

 from the tree readily, and should be ripened in a cool, dark place. 

 In the case of winter pears, the usual guide for harvesting is the 

 time when the pears begin to drop. 



Suggestions on Pruning. 



Intelligent pruning at the right time is absolutely essential to 

 the production of the best fruit. An unpruned tree may, in 

 many instances, produce a larger number of apples than an 

 adjacent pruned tree; but the percentage of merchantable fruit 

 will invariably be smaller. Small apples contain just as many 

 seeds as large ones, and therefore make practically as great 

 demands on the store of plant food. They do not, however, 

 fill the basket, nor the pocketbook, so rapidly as the others. 



The amount of pruning necessary depends largely upon the 

 location and exposure of the orchard. Trees on a warm, south- 

 ern slope, freely exposed to the winds, require much less pruning 

 than do those in a cool, sheltered location which is lacking in 

 sunshine. Plenty of light is essential to the production of 

 highly colored fruit. It is desirable that trees should be pruned 

 intelligently from the time they are set, but old trees may often 

 be given a new lease of life by judicious management. If the 

 trees have been long neglected and require heavy pruning, do 

 not remove all of the wood the first year. Removal of a portion 

 of the top, thus distributing the food gathered by the roots to 

 a smaller number of branches, tends to produce rapid growth 

 and a renewed vigor of the tree. The removal of too much 

 at one time, will start the growth of water-sprouts and defeat 

 the very purpose in view. 



The best time for pruning is on warm days from January to 

 May. More can be accomplished in the longer days of March, 

 April and May, but many prefer to go through the orchard on 

 the crust of a deep snow. The time of year when the cut is 



