PRUNING PRINCIPLES 119 



r.aldwin apple, notorious for its "off years," what may not 

 1je accomplished with other varieties ? 



So far as the author knows, Mr. Wells practices only 

 summer thinning; hut winter thinning produces similar re- 

 sults, for it conserves energy. Tliis conservation can he most 

 easily noted in a])ples and pears hecause of the spur method 

 of fruit hearing. In these fruits there is normally an alterna- 

 tion of cluster hud and branch (spur) bud development. 

 This is due to the demand made upon the sinir for friod to 

 develop the fruit, a demand t1iat usuallv ])re\'ents the forma- 

 tion of a blossom bud on the spur during the same \'ear as 

 a fruit is developed on that sjiur. While the fruit is being 

 developed the spur has only cnougli surplus energv to de- 

 velop a In'anch (spur) l)ud near the uninn of the fruit stem 

 witli the sjnu". To induce annual fruiting, the trees must 

 either be extra well fed or the fruit must be thinnetL The 

 former is generally not as certain as the latter. 



One way in which annual bearing ma\' Ije induced is to 

 remove all the fruits while young from some of the spurs 

 and only the inferior ones from others. Thus fruit l)uds 

 should develop on the empty spurs and none on the bearing 

 f)ncs, and an alternation of fruit liearing would tend to be 

 developed on each set of spurs ; but one set would Ijear in 

 the even years and the other in the odd years. Thus the tree 

 should never overbear in any one year, and the grower 

 should alwavs have at least a partial crop. This method, if 

 applied while the trees are )-oung, requires less work than 

 may at first appear, because after once getting a start it \\-ill 

 at least partly take care of itself. AVhether mature trees 

 with set alternate year bearing habits can be made to bear 

 annualh- is a question yet to be decided. Much of the suc- 

 cess of the plan will depend upon the character of care given 

 the orcliard. 



A\'hat has been said under this heading as applying to 

 thinning of the fruit applies with equal force to the thinning 

 of the fruit-l)earing areas of the trees. 



