1909.] 



Root-pruning Fruit Trees. 



291 



with excessive vigour. This will hasten the production of 

 fruit considerablv, but shoots grown under such conditions 

 are very susceptible to attacks of canker in Apples and Pears 

 and "gum" in stone fruits; they are also likely to be 

 pulled out of place, perhaps broken, when laden with fruit, 

 being too thin and weak to carry the crop properly. 



Root-pruning. — Growers should aim at the production of 

 sturdy, well-matured shoots only, if quick returns are 

 required, and when trees of even the most vigorous varieties 

 make more than twenty to twenty-four inches of growth in a 

 season, it is a sure indication that they are developing some 

 deep-growing coarse roots. Fruit trees, therefore, w^hich are 

 producing wood at the expense of fruit, should be root- 

 pruned some time between the end of October and the end 

 of November. Trees root-pruned at that time quickly become 

 re-established, and frequently make several inches of new 

 root growth before the ground becomes too cold. If left 

 much later, new growth does not commence till spring, while 

 if operations are begun much earlier the shoots shrivel. 

 Lifting and re-planting should be the method adopted with 

 trees three or four years old; if longer established, root- 

 pruning will be most advisable. 



In the case of pears and plums grown as bushes, pyramids, 

 or trained trees, it almost always pays to lift about the second 

 or third year after planting. This usually causes them to 

 develop fruit buds freely the following summer, without 

 giving an undue check. At this time the roots will be 

 moderately plentiful and fibrous, and will therefore quickly 

 make a fresh start in the soil. 



Method of Lifting and 'Pruning. — When lifting, the 

 operator should commence by opening a trench beyond the 

 spread of the branches, working his way inward very 

 carefully, so as to damage the roots as little as possible. 

 When clear of the soil the tree should be held upside down, 

 and roots which were growing directly downwards, together 

 with all other coarse ones, should be cut away with a clean 

 cut, but all the finer and more fibrous ones retained. It 

 should then be re-planted with all its remaining roots care- 

 fully spread near the surface, radiating in all directions. 

 The roots should then be covered with a few inches of fine soil, 



