first Year Pruning. 11g 
strong branches. Formerly trees were cut back farther than 
desirable and the branches allowed to crowd each other, as has 
just been stated. It is better to retain twenty-four inches of 
stem than twelve inches—providing care is taken during the first 
summer to prevent, by pinching, the growth of too many 
branches near together. Allow those to grow which are more 
distant from each other on the stem and pinch the intervening 
shoots. In this way one can have the lowest branch at six 
inches from the ground in the hot valleys if desired, or twelve 
inches in the coast valleys, and the highest branch at eighteen or 
Yearling apple marked to cut back for greater 
or less space between main branches; also first 
year’s growth from each beginniug marked for 
first winter pruning. 
twenty-four inches. This gives about twice the distance be- 
tween the main branches which was formerly allowed, and it is 
of vast advantage to the strength of the tree. The illustrations 
of this fact are from trees planted by the writer in 1887 to test 
this matter. At this date they are large trees and show the 
forms of heads resulting from different spacing of branches on 
the young trees during the first summer’s growth. 
First, then, cut back the tree just after planting, as shown 
in the engraving, deciding first at what height you wish your 
trees to form heads, and cut them all back as uniformly as pos- 
