2 1 2 Practical Orcharding On Rough Lands. 



heavy in spite of the lopping ofif of the branches 

 every spring in an attempt to correct this heavy 

 growth of wood, which will likely only be in- 

 creased by severe pruning if done while the 

 tree is dormant. Such trees should be pruned 

 after the leaves are full grown. This will 

 check their growth because it lessens their 

 ability (as has been said, by decreasing their 

 leaf surface) to prepare plant food which has 

 been brought up from the soil to the leaves 

 where it is made ready for the use of the tree. 

 When, we wish to modify the vigor of our fruit 

 trees, in order to cause them to bear fruit, we 

 should, as in the case just described, avoid 

 winter or dormant pruning. That we may fully 

 understand why we sometimes prune trees to 

 cause them to bear fruit, we shall consider first 

 the purpose of all plants. They grow in order 

 to produce seed, or to reproduce. On observ- 

 ing plants we find that whenever their lives 

 are threatened, that it is then an effort is made 

 to produce seed. We should also remember 

 that the apple tree does not start out to pro- 

 duce the apple, but its great purpose is to 

 produce the seed, and it just so happens that 

 its seed case — the apple — is made use of by us 

 for food. So we find ourselves interested in the 

 production of these cases. We have found 

 under the subject just studied that it is possible 



