APPLES 133 
The Figure Shows Two Jonathan Apple Trees, Five Months 
Old. ‘The Old’ shows the ordinary tree as it is set in 
the orchard and trimmed; ‘‘The New” shows the nursery 
headed tree set in the orchard ready for trimming. 
Beauties. Professor W. S. Thornber, for- 
merly of the Washington State College 
at Pullman, Wash., stated at the State 
Horticultural Meeting at Prosser, Wash.., 
1911, that early bearing does not injure 
a tree, assuming that the allotted time 
for which fillers are to oceupy the ground 
is eight years. 
Following the above method we have 
produced a tree that will bear fully 25 
per cent more fruit, and bear this fruit 
from one to two years earlier than trees 
planted in the ordinary way. Whether 
it will become extensively practiced as a 
system for planting the permanent or- 
chard is yet to be demonstrated. We 
have, however, commercial orchardists 
who bought these trees last year for 
fillers and who are placing orders for 
both permanent trees and fillers to be 
headed in the nursery according to our 
method of growing trees for 
fillers. 
enables the trees to make a 
better root system as the top 
growth is checked 30 to 40 
days by pruning and in the 
meantime the root system is 
growing. After this period 
the tree instead of growing a 
five or six-foot whip in length, 
makes a branched top which 
becomes a permanent part of 
the tree, being equal to a two- 
year-old tree. 
We find our way of treat- 
ing them in the_— nursery 
makes a balanced head and 
root system, and nature has . 
developed a perfect tree, head- 
ed near the ground, and it is 
now past what we call the 
“dehorning system,” as it re- 
quires very little pruning 
from now on. 
The commercial tree should 
be low and spreading and 
should be made without too 
much wood cutting which 
causes black heart. In plant- 
ing a nursery-headed tree you 
have the advantage of setting 
the heavy side to the wind, 
while in the ordinary tree you do not 
know which is going to be the heavy 
side, and if the orchard is in the care 
of unskilled labor it is likely to be spoil- 
ed by improper pruning. 
A. B. Capps, 
Prosser, Wash. 
Pruning the Top 
Some growers leave the pruning of the 
top of the trees till they are set out in 
the field, but it would seem that the 
work might be more conveniently done 
before the trees are set. This would so 
reduce the bulk that the trees would be 
more conveniently handled, and would 
obviate the necessity of walking over 
the whole orchard to prune the trees 
after planting. The ultimate shape of 
the tree depends largely upon how it is 
pruned when set. With yearling trees 
the operation is very simple and consists 
It is elaimed that this __ 
