2 14 Practical Orcharding On Rough Lands, 



creasing its ability to use plant food by lessen- 

 ing its leaf surface. By thus checking its 

 growth or threatening its life, it is caused to 

 attempt to reproduce. Summer pruning should 

 only be resorted to in extreme cases. That is, 

 when trees continue to make wood growth at 

 the expense of fruit buds, after other means, 

 such as has been described under the head of 

 cultivation or ''Growing Plants to Check the 

 Growth of Other Plants." When it is found 

 necessary to apply this method of pruning it 

 may best be done by going over the trees while 

 they are dormant and carefully deciding which 

 branches should be removed. Then with a 

 small paint brush on a long handle or pole, 

 mark the limbs with white paint, so that after 

 the leaves are grown you will have no diffi- 

 culty in deciding which should come out. 

 Otherwise it may make a good deal of work, 

 and frequently limbs are removed that should 

 not have been. 



Pruning to Produce Larger and Better 



Fruit. — Pruning to increase the size and 

 quality of fruit is probably more universally 

 recognized and practiced among the grape and 

 peach growers than any other class of horti- 

 culturists, although it has merit, and should be 

 applied to the production of apples as well. 

 Frequently we might thin our fruits by prun- 



