302 
these in vase form for three years until 
we have reached a height of four or five 
feet, with a top spreading at least three 
feet, when we should commence the 
doubling of each of our five branches. 
We should always attempt to keep all 
the tops level or nearly so, as the doub- 
ling commences the third or fourth year. 
Meantime there has been more or less 
branching of small limbs on the main lat- 
eral limbs. Some of these should be left, 
but only those that are not showing a 
strong tendency to produce wood too 
abundantly. 
In thinning out these trees be sure to 
leave a few of these cross-limbs both 
inside and outside, but not so low that 
they will interfere with close cultiva- 
tion. 
They should be so left that the upper 
ones will not shade the lower ones too 
much, and yet have enough left that the 
system may be practical, as these 
branches will produce the first fruit and 
this puts the fruit farther away from 
the frame limbs, thus preventing heavy 
loss from blight infection as the buds on 
the heavy limbs sometimes do. 
Each of these short limbs should be 
tipped slightly to insure development of 
all buds on each limb. 
The production of fruit spurs being de- 
pendent upon the first and second year’s 
development of the bud, it is very neces- 
sary to allow as much sunlight as pos- 
sible inside the tree. In many cases 
there is a strong tendency to over-prune 
and cut back heavily, which should be 
avoided as much as possible and yet pro- 
duce a strong frame work. 
In all normal plants there is a heavy 
root pressure that is caused by the rapid 
absorption by root tips of soil water and 
this is forced upward into the limbs and 
small branches. This root pressure which 
can be measured in pounds of pressure 
must be reckoned with when we cut off 
the tops of rapidly growing trees and 
thus increase the pressure in the remain- 
ing limbs. 
The early fruiting limbs, before men- 
tioned, help to equalize this increased 
pressure and help to maintain a better 
balance between top and roots and hold 
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 
the tree in check more or less. As a mat- 
ter of fact, these limbs absorb their share 
of plant food and if not tipped too 
heavily will set in their second year an 
abundance of fruit Spurs. 
At the end of the second yjear’s 
growth of these side branches, if the buds 
are prominent on the older part of the 
limb and look like fruit spurs, the branch 
can then be cut back to allow only as 
many blossoms as needed to appear. 
While the tree has been busy setting this 
fruit, the tops have been making rapid 
growth of three or four feet annually, 
which must be cut back some to prevent 
the tree arching too near the ground. We 
should never allow more than three 
limbs to remain at the tops and two are 
really better. In all cases of early bear- 
ing due consideration must be given for 
future crops and the small amount of 
fruit we get in the fifth and sixth years 
is, although commercial, useful in bring- 
ing the tree into earlier bearing than 
heavy pruning methods and also does not 
hinder development as some people fear 
when the tree is cropped too heavily. 
Our aim from the fifth year on should 
be to have sufficient two-year-old wood 
always in readiness to produce an even 
crop on all parts of the tree. 
This can only be obtained by thinning 
the branches both inside and outside each 
year, and after the sixth year topping 
should not be resorted to in the apple 
except in exceptional cases and then to a 
lateral if possible. 
Pears, however, aS a general rule, need 
to be topped annually to prevent termin- 
al fruits which are of little commercial 
value. 
Winter pruning is recommended for gen- 
eral practice, as the work is more satis- 
factory, can be done quicker and better, 
as the limbs show their ages better when 
dormant and as the tree grows older, we 
should try to cut three and four-year-old 
wood that is not frame wood, rather 
than so much young wood on the outside 
of the ‘tree. 
Summer pruning is very useful in the 
training of young trees as any low, Su- 
perfluous limbs can be removed, as also 
any that tend to pull a frame limb out 
