374 



Planting a Cider Orchard. [august, 



retain the sun heat, so that every shower that falls brings to 

 the young tree an acceptable dose of warm soluble food. 



In planting on a stiff, cold, retentive soil the trees must 

 be planted either on mounds or very near the surface. 

 The mode of planting must, however, be determined by the 

 situation of the land. 



Pruning. — In the case of trees that have arrived direct from 

 the nursery, the first pruning to be carried out is the root prun- 

 ing, taking care that the end of every root that has been roughly 

 cut through in lifting is carefully cut back to a sound end 

 with a sharp knife, removing, if necessary, any badly injured 

 roots, as these, if left, may be the cause of trouble when the 

 tree is practically in its prime. Should it be inconvenient to 

 plant the trees at once, they should be root pruned on their 

 arrival, so that the roots may commence to repair their wounds 

 by forming a callus or covering over the end of each root that 

 has been cut. 



It is not desirable to prune back young trees immediately 

 at the time of planting, but wait till early spring and then cut 

 cleanly back to the dormant but plump eye from which a 

 branch or leader is to be formed. If, on the other hand, the 

 planting is not done till late in the spring, it is then far better 

 to defer pruning the branches till early in the following winter 

 or spring. When pruning the head of young standards it 

 must be remembered that the formation of the tree is in the 

 grower's hands, and if there are not sufficient branches 

 they must be created by the judicious use of the knife. 

 The treatment of the heads of different kinds of trees 

 must to a certain extent be determined by the character of 

 their growth, the aim being to obtain the formation of heads 

 composed of branches that stand clear of each other, are well- 

 balanced, and thoroughly exposed to light and sunshine. 

 This is absolutely necessary for the ripening of the wood, for the 

 formation of spurs with fruit buds, and last, but not least, for the 

 maturing and colouring of the crop. If properly pruned and 

 looked after for the first six years, a young cider orchard only 

 requires to be gone over regularly each year for the purpose of 

 removing any branches that are broken, injured by stock, or 

 are interfering with an adjoining branch. 



