14 



Having selected the necessary branches to form the future trees, the rest of the buds on the main stem 

 should all be pinched back after they have made a growth of a couple of inches or so, so as to produce a tuft 

 of leaves which will tend to protect the stem of the tree against sunburn till the top has made sufficient 

 growth to do so. Should, however, your tree, when purchased from the nursery, have laterals along its whole 

 length, it will be necessary to remove thcia all after cutting nway the top, care being taken not to cut them 

 too close and thus destroy the strong bud at their base, which will have to produce the future limb. 



In forming the head be sure to have the main limbs well balanced ; and. as a general rule, I may say, 

 three branches are preferable to four, and four to five. 



Generally speaking, it will not be necessary to do anything in the way of pruning during the first year's 

 growth unless it is excessive and in danger of splitting the tree, when it may be necessary to shorten in : 

 but, ordinarily, it is better to leave on the whole as a good root system will thus be developed, and the main 

 stems strengthened. At the end of the year the tree should be cut back to within from G to 12 inches of the 

 original height at which it was cut, the object being to produce a thoroughly strong foundation on which to 

 build the future tree ; as, should the young wood be left on and go to fruit, though an earlier return would 

 be obtained, the tree would break, and at three to four years would be straggling and ill-formed, requiring to 

 be propped all round to carry its fruit, which will also be of inferior quality. And in addition, it will be im- 

 possible to do anything with horse cultivation in such an orchard, as it would be impossible to get near the 

 trees, thus requiring a large amount of costly and otherwise unnecessary hand labour. There is no economy 

 in getting men to do labour at high rates which can be better and more thoroughly performed by a horse 

 and at a vast saving of time and money. 



The following spring, each of the tree, four, or five branches that have been left will throw out branches 

 all along their length, and, of these, only the two upper ones on each branch, on opposite sides of the 

 branch, and having an upward tendency, should be left. All the others, after making a growth of 2 or 3 

 inches, should be pinched back so as to produce a tuft of leaves, as was done on the main stem the first 

 year, to shade the branches, and throw out fruit spurs, which will produce fruit the following year. At the 

 end of the second year you will thus have a stocky, well-shaped, evenly-balanced tree, having six, eight, or 

 ten well-developed branches, which will have to be shortened into a length of 15 to 18 inches from the 

 previous year's cut. In the following spring, each of the six, eight, or ten branches are treated in the same 

 manner as the three, four, or five branches were the previous year. 



The result of these operations will be a strong, upright tree, of about 4 feet in height, ready to begin 

 bearing, and one that will stand up under a fair crop of fruit evenly distributed over its branches. By this 

 method of pruning, the orchardist will get his first fruit thirty months after setting out his orchard ; but in 

 many, if not most instances, it is advisable to delay a year longer, as, when cropping is commenced too soon, 

 before the trees are able to stand their fruit, there is a risk of breaking them down, and also of materially 

 injuring their future health and productiveness. It is like hitching up a raw colt and expecting to get the 

 work of an old horse out of him, the result being he is broken down and useless just at the time when, had 

 he been properly treated, he would have been of most value. 



The following winter top growth Bhould be again cut back, the amount to be cut depending on the 

 strength of the tree and kind of fruit. Generally speaking, a good rule to go by is, the less the growth, the 

 more in proportion should be cut back. 



Under favorable circumstances, we shall now have a tree from 6 to 7 feet high when pruned, more if the 

 growth has been extra, the branches of which have a general upright tendency, which will enable them to 

 carry much more fruit than if left to struggle all over the place, and, moreover, cultivation may be carried 

 right up to the trees. From this stage onwards the trees will only require a yearly shortening in. cutting out 

 any branches that interfere with others, also, of course, all dead or dying branches. When it is found that 

 the tree is of a spreading habit naturally, always, in pruning, cut to an inner bud, which will tend to confine 

 it ; and, if the tree is inclined to grow too upright, as is the case with some plums and pears, always cut to an 

 outer bud ; and, if it is desirable to continue the limb in a given direction, cut to au inner bud one year and 

 an outer bud the next, 



I have mentioned nothing about summer pruning, which, except in especial cases, is not applicable to 

 fruit-growing for commercial purposes as, in order to be successfully carried out, it requires far more time 

 and attention than the ordinary fruit-grower can give his trees, and to leave it to an ordinary hired hand 

 would do for more harm than good. 



Before I conclude, I will say a few words about general pruning, as applicable to existing orchards. In 

 the first place, all branches crossing or in any way interfering with any other branch, should be removed; 

 and, if the cut is a large one, it should be made with the saw, and the edges of the cut carefully trimmed 

 with a knife, and the whole covered with grafting wax, or a dressing of shellac dissolved in alcohol to the 

 consistency of paint, and applied with a brush. This entirely prevents the wounds souring, and when the 

 edges of the cut have been well trimmed, a new growth of bark will soon cover the cut. All dead, broken, 

 or dying branches should be removed, and also all branches growing from the under side of the limbs which 

 tend to trail on the ground, or, at any rate, open up the top of the tree, letting the sun directly on the branches, 

 thus scalding them, and causing much dead wood. The trees should also be gone over carefully, and thinned 

 out or shortened in where necessary ; but, at the best, if the tree has been improperly started, it is a hard job 

 trying to pull it into anything like a decent shape. 



The tools required in pruning are a good knife, a pair of 9 inch shears, and a saw, of which the Hatch 

 pattern of the California pruning saw, made by the Pacific Saw Company of San Francisco, is decidedly the 

 best. This saw somewhat resembles that used by butchers, except that the blade is much narrower, £ of an 

 inch in width being about the best size for general work. The blade revolves on a swivel, so that it can be 

 used in any position required, and, as the teeth are fine, it makes a very clean cut. Another advantage of 

 this saw is that, should you break a blade, you can fit in another in a minute or two. 



The time to prune deciduous trees is when the sap is down, and leaves off the trees. Plums arc generally 

 the first ready, and are followed by pears, apricots, pouches, and lastly apples. 



The general effects of pruning may be summarised as follows : — 



1. Close pruning, when the tree is dormant, induces tree growth. Hence, if tree is a feeble, or 

 has not grown as could be wished, it should bo closely trimmed in the winter season, always cutting just 

 above healthy buds. 



2. A severe shock to the tree, whilst the sap is flowing freely, causes the tree to throw out fruit 

 buds and spurs for the next season, and pruning whilst the tree is in blossom will cause that crop to set. 



