PRUNING 



71 



viously required. The heading back of the year- 

 old shoots which are to remain is especially omitted. 

 Hereafter the tree is allowed to grow without 

 heading back. The other party believes in an- 

 nual heading back with a view to forming more 

 compact heads and with the idea that the formation 

 of the heads can be more strictly controlled. It is 

 only fair to say that in the 

 present state of our pomo- 

 logical knowledge a positive 

 decision cannot be given in 

 favor of either method. 

 Some men succeed by one 

 method, others by the other. 



During the succeeding 

 early years of growth in the 

 orchard this procedure con- 

 tinues. The heads will be 

 kept open and clean under 

 any method of management, 

 while the men who believe 

 in heading back their trees 

 will continue their annual 

 heading in, and the men who 

 believe in allowing free and 

 unrestricted growth will 

 omit that portion of the annual pruning exercise. 



When the trees come into bearing the treatment 

 necessarily changes to some extent. The problems 

 of forming the head of the tree have now been 

 largely passed by and the leading problem now is 

 the reproduction of an abundance of healthy fruit- 

 ing wood. The men who have practiced the head- 

 ing-in system should now, to be consistent, remove 

 a certain portion of the top of each tree every year, 



FIG. 32 QUINCE READY 



TO PRUNE 



