74 beginners' guide to fruit growing 



feels like supplying himself with a full equipment, 

 a set of shears — one pair light, one medium, and one 

 heavy — will enable him to adapt his tool to the char- 

 acter of his work. This is a manifest advantage. 

 The cheapest grades of shears should be avoided. 

 The two-hand shears (Figure 35) will be found 

 suitable for rather heavy pruning. While they are 

 not quite indispensable, they are well worth having. 



FIG. 37 — RIGID PRUNING KNIFE 



The long-handled, or pole pruner is also a very 

 valuable tool. This instrument may be had with 

 poles of various lengths, from 6 to 12 feet. 



The knife. Every nurseryman and orchardist is 

 expected to carry a pruning knife with the typical 

 curved blade (Figure 36), just to show his mem- 

 bership in the order. Sometimes the knife comes 

 in handy on trees, though it is much more fre- 



FIG. 38 — ^PRUNING SAW 



quently used for opening sardine cans, paring 

 horses' hoofs or cutting a chew of tobacco. 



The pruning saw is a regular article of com- 

 merce, though the saws most widely sold for this pur- 

 pose are too light and are made of very poor materials. 

 Some pruners prefer one pattern and some another. 



