APPLES ° 281 
top is at that time cut to within a few inches 
of the ground, the tree will send forth vig- 
orous branches that will in two or three years 
form a head equal to the first and ever after 
be a more vigorous tree.—Ed. 
The Height of the Head 
A decisive choice must be made at the 
very start as to the height of the head. 
Shall the tree be low or high-headed? The 
choice should usually be for a low-headed 
tree for the reason that such a tree is 
more easily sprayed and pruned and the 
fruit more readily thinned and harvested; 
crop and tree are less liable to injury by 
wind; the trunk is less liable to injury by 
sun scald, winter-killing and parasites; the 
top is more quickly formed and the low- 
headed tree soonest bears fruit. No ad- 
vantage as to cultivation is gained by 
either method over the other, as a well 
trained tree with a low head, in which 
the branches ascend obliquely, permits 
the cultivator to come sufficiently near the 
tree. It is a fact, for which no explana- 
tion can be offered here, that the branches 
of low-headed trees ascend more uprightly 
than those of trees neaded high. By low- 
headed is meant a distance from earth to 
first limb of from one to two feet. The 
peach may be headed at the lower dis- 
tance, the plum, pear and cherry some- 
what higher. while the apple should ap- 
proach the upper limit. * 
U. P. Heprick, 
Geneva, NY. 
Pruning One-year-old Trees 
With a one-year-old tree pruning is 
easy. Remove the branches and cut back 
the remaining whip to the heading height 
desired. The reason for this cutting back 
is that a tree of this age has not sufficient 
space of bare trunk between branches for 
final branch spacing. If the tree is two 
years old as is usually the case with al] 
fruits excepting the peach or when the 
one-year-old plants have been set a year, 
the real work of heading may be begun, 
but even now the required space for 
proper heading hardly exists, and the head 
cannot yet be wholly formed. This early 
pruning is, therefore, all more or less pro- 
visional though an ideal for the future 
* Our opinion is that the lower limit is better 
than the upper.—Ed. 
tree must be plainly in the mind from 
the start. 
Pruning for Wood 
When the head of the tree is formed 
subsequent pruning is directed toward the 
formation of wood or of fruit-buds. If a 
tree is bearing many small fruits, if the 
top contains dead or dying branches, or 
if the seasonal growth is short and scant, 
it may be taken for granted that the 
tree lacks vigor, or, in old trees, is pass- 
ing into decrepitude. Such trees may us- 
ually be rejuvenated by judicious prun- 
ing. In professional terms the tree must 
be “pruned for wood.” Such pruning con- 
sists in cutting back a considerable num- 
ber of branches and in wholly removing 
others. The practice is based upon the 
fact that the development of the leaves 
and shoots—vegetative activity—is de- 
pendent upon a constant supply of the sol- 
uble nutriment—the § sap. Therefore, 
when the size of the tree top is diminished 
the remaining parts grow more lustily. If 
half of the top of a decrepit tree is cut 
away, the remaining half in the season 
that follows will produce a leaf surface 
often twice that which the whole top 
would have borne. When trees are en- 
feebled by age, injured by insects or fungi, 
robbed of food and moisture by sod or 
crops, or neglected in any way, there is 
nothing which will more quickly stimu- 
late them and renew their youthful vigor 
than conservative surgery. Such pruning 
for wood should usually be extended over 
two or more years. In pruning for wood 
the following rules are usually applicable: 
Weak-growing varieties may always be 
pruned generously; strong-growing kinds 
lightly. 
Varieties which branch freely need lit- 
tle pruning. Those having unbranching 
limbs should be pruned closely. 
In cool, damp climates trees run to 
wood and need little pruning. In hot, 
dry climates they need much pruning. 
Rich, deep soils favor growth; prune 
trees in such soils lightly. In shallow, 
sandy soils, trees produce short shoots, 
and the wood should be closely cut. 
The Form of the Top 
Two general types of top are open to 
choice; the vase form or open-centered 
