PRUNING NURSERY STOCK 



171 



three-year-old trees. One-half of each lot were transplanted 

 in the usual way ; others had their roots pruned to mere stocks. 

 Trees in the first lot started off more vigorously in the spring, but 

 before the end of June the closely pruned trees were larger than the 

 others, and this lead was maintained throughout the season. When 

 the trees were dug the closely pruned ones had developed much better 

 root systems than the others. 



FIG. 123— HOW TOP OF NEWLY SET TREE MAY BE PRUNED 

 The top of a tree should he primed immediately after plantin.q. Most orchardists 

 do not prune enough. On the left the tree is shown as recei\ed from nursery; in 

 the center as ordinarily but insufficiently pruned; on the right pruned much better. 

 The branches should be farther apart to make for strength. Better lea\'e the 

 lowest and the highest in this case, cut out the others and develop new ones upon 

 the leader as seen in the left-hand picture. 



147. When to prune nursery tree tops. — While the 



roots may be pruned prior to carrying the trees to the 

 field, it is conceded to be best practice to prune the tops 

 after the trees have been planted. \A'hen pruned prior to 



