PRUNING THE DIFFERENT TREE FRUITS 241 



growths. No definite amounts of heading back, such as 10 

 per cent or 20 per cent, can be recommended. If the branches 

 are making a length growth of more than 2 feet, it will prob- 

 ably pay to head back to this length. This will insure the 

 formation of new secondary branches low enough to prevent 

 the tree from becoming too 'Villowy^' or '^leggy.'' If the 

 limbs are headed too severely, serious crowding of the second- 

 ary branches will result. 



Secondary branches which are selected for continuing the 

 framework of the tree each year should not be shortened 

 back equally, if heading back is practiced. When such 

 branches originate close together, bad crotches will occur as 

 previously described if one is not dwarfed by reducing the 

 leaf area through heavier cutting. 



As a w^hole, thinning out lightly should be practiced in 

 preference to heading back, unless the shoots are unusually 

 vigorous. It should be remembered, however, that the more 

 severely a tree is cut back, the longer will be the growths 

 of the resulting shoots, which may mean heavier pruning 

 again the next year. 



It is not advisable to thin out non-bearing or young trees 

 severely. Although the trees may look better to some people 

 if all growths on the insides of the main limbs are removed, 

 such pruning will remove large number of leaves which, 

 unless under badly shaded conditions, would contribute greatly 

 to the growth and fruiting of the tree. It should be remembered 

 that each branch with its leaves adds to the tree's food prob- 

 ably much more than it uses. As a result, the longer such 

 branches can be left, suppressing them with pruning if neces- 

 sary, before finally removing them, the sooner the tree will 

 attain large size and profitable bearing (Fig. 85). 



Pruning Young and Old Bearing Apple Trees. This sub- 

 ject has already been treated on pages 226 and 229. 



Rejuvenation Pruning of Apple Trees. It will often pay 

 to attempt to rejuvenate old orchards even though they may 

 have been neglected for several years, if the orchard is located 



