68 SYSTEM OF PRUNING. 
should be made close to the body of the tree or to 
the branch from which it forks off. The surface of 
the wound should be made smooth and coated over 
with gum shellac dissolved in aleohol. I have used 
this paste for a number of years, with satisfactory 
results. Owners should not be over-anxious to have 
a large tree in a few years, but rather endeavor, by a 
judicious system of pruning, to get a stocky growth, 
and strengthen the branches near the ground. In 
this way the whole surtace of the tree will produce 
alike. By pursuing this course, the buds on the 
lower branches are developed, fruit spurs are formed 
near the trunk of the tree, and by keeping the 
branches far enough apart to admit sun and air 
freely, the fruit will attain full size, and will be less 
likely to be blown off by heavy gales in the fall 
than if on the top of the tree. 
When the tree is in place, from one-half to two- 
thirds of the young shoots should be pruned, leav- 
ing every branch shorter than the one immediately 
under it. By strictly following this method, the up- 
ward tendency of the sap will bein a degree checked, 
and there will be a more even distribution of it 
among the lower limbs. The scripture adage, “train 
up a child in the way he should go, and when he is 
old he will not depart from it,” is no less true of a 
fruit tree. It rests solely with the owner, whether 
