216 Practical Orcharding On Rough Lands, 



branches that we may consider unnecessary. 

 While this should be one purpose of pruning, 

 it should not be uppermost in our minds, for 

 we have already tried to show some reasons 

 why pruning should be practiced that are of 

 far more importance. If we all could have 

 that ideal tree in our minds from the time of 

 planting on through the orchard's growth, and 

 prune accordingly, we might have much less 

 of this unnecessary wood to remove. The most 

 careful grower, however, will make mistakes 

 and often leave too many limbs on the young 

 tree. It is hard to realize how much thicker 

 it will look after the limbs have gotten large, 

 say six or eight inches in diameter. We should 

 then decide as early as possible in the life of 

 the tree just which branches are to be of real 

 use, and remove as promptly as possible all 

 others. Remembering that by so doing we 

 avoid the wasting of energy or growth, as well 

 as avoid making many large wounds that would 

 be necessary in after years. 



Pruning to Remove Injured Parts.— The 



removal of injured parts by pruning applies to 

 the young trees when being prepared for set- 

 ting, when all bruised or broken parts, either 

 root or branch, should be removed. It also 

 applies to the cutting of! pf diseased branches, 



