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tree, and the globe or close centered tree. 
In the first the frame-work of the tree 
consists of a short trunk surmounted by 
four or five main branches ascending 
obliquely. In the close-centered tree the 
trunk is continued above the branches, 
forming the center of the tree. There 
are several modifications of each of these. 
In this climate the open-headed, vase- 
formed tree is best for the peach and 
the close-centered two-storied tree is best 
for all other fruits. Whatever the form, 
care should be taken that the lowest 
branches are longest so that the greatest 
possible leaf-surface will be exposed to the 
sun and light. 
Tree Formation 
For several years after planting, the 
peach alone excepted, fruit trees need to 
be pruned only to train the tree. Just 
how much to prune young trees depends 
upon the fruit, the variety, the soil and 
the climate. Fruit growers prune trees 
far too much, thereby increasing the 
growth of wood and of leaf surface and 
of delaying the fruiting of the plant. If 
trees were originally well selected all that 
is needed is to remove an occasional 
branch which starts out in the wrong 
place—the sooner done the better—and to 
take out dead, injured or crossed limbs. 
The peach, some plums and some pears 
may need heading-in, and a weak or sickly 
tree may require somewhat more severe 
pruning. 
Dehorning Trees 
A great deal is said about dehorning 
trees. By dehorning is meant the cut- 
ting back of all branches to within two 
feet or even less of the trunk. The term in 
use for this rather severe operation is 
a misnomer, for the tree so treated is 
really decapitated. If cutting off the 
top of a tree is “dehorning” one can as 
well say that cutting off the roots is “de- 
tailing.” Most trees that are “dehorned” 
may as well be “detailed” at the same 
time. There are, however, exceptional 
cases with peaches and possibly other 
stone fruits when this wholesale renew- 
ing of top is rational, as when good trees 
of these fruits in their prime are se- 
verely injured by overbearing, heavy 
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 
winds, snows, fungi, or other causes, But 
to “dehorn” peach trees 15 or more years 
old for the sake of one more ciop is usy- 
ally a very poor practice. Such trees in 
most cases should go to the brush heap 
and a young orchard take the place of the 
old. 
Root Pruning 
Root pruning is seldom necessary in 
American orcharding. In cooler, damper 
climates it is of some value in dwarf- 
ing trees and in bringing them into fruit, 
To prune the roots is to cut off the food 
supply and thereby starve the tree. This 
drastic treatment is sometimes recom- 
mended for the orchards of this region 
but it is extremely doubtful if properly 
pruning the top, good tillage or less se- 
vere measures than cutting the roots will 
not bring about the same results without 
permanently weakening the trees as does 
root pruning. This applies to pruning 
the roots of mature trees and not to the 
fantastic notion set forth by Stringfel- 
low 10 or 12 years ago that young trees 
are best transplanted by cutting the roots 
back to a stub. Until nature reverses the 
laws of plant-growth, tree planters had 
much better continue setting trees with 
a root system ready to perform its func- 
tion naturally and normally even though 
a plant pruned to a stub may grow, and 
under exceptional conditions may grow 
well. 
The Work of Pruning 
Each man must select his own pruning 
paraphernalia—as ladders, knives, saws 
and shears. Occasionally you see a man 
pruning with an ax. Now an ax is a 
good tool for some purposes but it is not 
of much value in pruning. A _ sharp 
knife in the hands of an expert is a 
better tool than shears, but the amateur 
had much better stick to shears. 
The cut in pruning should always be 
made parallel with the trunk and as close 
as possible. One of the most elementary 
rules of pruning is that the cut should 
be made just beyond a healthy lateral 
branch, and yet in the average orchard 
the rule is violated more often than it 
is followed. The reason for so cutting 
is plain. The lateral branch is stimu- 
