220 Pruning the Cherry. 
except the leader, which is allowed to grow as long as it pleases 
during the summer. About February or March, for Mr. Geiger 
does not believe in pruning the cherry until the buds begin to 
burst in the spring, he cuts back the leader to about twelve or 
sixteen inches from its starting-point and cuts back the side 
branches to about six or eight inches. This is done year after 
ycar, cutting back and thinning out the side shoots, pinching the 
laterals, and allowing the leader to grow, never interfering 
with it until the spring pruning, and always letting it predom- 
inate over the side shoots. By cutting short, wood is increased, 
but at the end of six years the tree goes into fruit very rapidly. 
As the tree increases in fruit, it decreases in. wood, and by the 
time it is ten or twelve years old there will be but little cutting 
to do, except to shorten in and thin out, and this requires some 
judgment and experience, to know where to cut, how to cut, 
and when to cut. To shorten in, never cut down to an old 
fruit spur. It is very difficult to get healthy wood out of such; 
but whenever you can find last year’s wood, there you can cut 
with safety anything that is less than one inch in diameter. 
This system of pruning must be accompanied by constant 
pinching during the summer-time. It should commence when 
the lower shoots are about six inches long, and be followed up 
closely all through the growing season. Those on the trunk 
should never get longer than eight or ten inches, under any cir- 
cumstances. After these are pinched, let the trees rest ten or 
fifteen days, or until the branches in the top get a good start. 
Then pinch everything clean but the leader, in every main 
branch in the tree. The leader takes its own way all through 
the growing season, to prevent the effects of over-pinching or 
checking growth. If only the side shoots are kept back, the 
leader or head of the branches receives the current or flow o 
sap and maintains and carries on life and vitality in the tree. 
One object in pinching or spur pruning is to keep back surplus 
wood and create fruit spurs, throwing all the little twigs and 
branches into fruit, thereby utilizing all the wood the tree can 
produce, not allowing it to grow at the tree’s expense, and then 
have to cut it off. And another object in side-shoot pruning is 
to make the tree produce fine large cherries, all closely nestled 
around the big wood, and no long, slim branches hanging down 
like weeping willow. All such branches are always more or 
less sunburnt on the top and full of worms, one of the evils 
tending to the destruction of the tree. 
Mr. Geiger’s method is commended to those who like a tree 
with a central leader, and are willing to give their orchards such 
constant attention as he does. His orchard near San Jose shows 
that his system is practicable; in fact, he followed it for a life- 
time, and his orchard is still famous. 
