21 



In the figure, the rows AA, CO, a® etc, or the rows 3B, DD, FP 

 etc. may be cut out. Suppose the black circles to represent 

 poor trees or vacant spaces. According to the figure there are 

 21 of these. By cutting out rows kk, GG , EE , etc. fourteen 

 of these spaces are included, where as by cutting out the other 

 rows only 7 are Included. By making such a plan as this seven 

 trees were saved in this case, enough to much more than pay for 

 the trouble of the map. 



It require courage to go into an orchard and arbitrarily 

 cut down large virile trees. But in many orchards the time has 

 come when a choice must be made between two poor trees and one 

 good one. If one has definitely made up his mind that his trees 

 are crowding, perhaps the best .vay to thin them is to do as the 

 owner of a fine Baldwin orchard once did. He decided which rows 

 w|.ould be removed. Then, to be sure he would not repent, and 

 have some of the trees saved, he went away for a two weeks visit 

 while the boys did the work. 



After half the trees are out, providing such a course is 

 necessary, then attention must be turned to the remaining trees. 



The probabilities are, that if the trees have had to be 

 thinned out, those that are left will be too high for convenient 

 handling. The cost of picking, spraying and in fact all the 

 orchard operations which involve the tree directly, is nearly 

 if not quite doubled in the case of the tree forty feet high over 

 that of the tree from 20 to 30 feet high. Therefore it is essential,* 

 to get the head dovm. Before beginning this operation, however, 

 every stick of dead wood, large or small should be taken out of 

 %he trees. After his tree is cleared of useless lumber, the 

 pruner knows just what he has to work with. After taking all the 



