Pruning, a Fitting Winter Activity— 
M. G. KAINS, y 17 ^ 
THE OHJECT TO BE KEPT IX VIEW-TOOLS THAT REALLY HELP AND MAKE THE WORK EASIER 
T he less trees ;mcl shrubs are pruned 
the better. By that I do not mean 
that no pruning should be done but 
that as far as possible the pruning should 
be anticipatory rather than resultant; it should 
be done when the parts are small rather than 
when they have grown large. 
I he principal, reason for this is that the 
smaller a wound the quicker it will heal. 
If, then, a twig starts to grow in a position 
which is beyond a doubt undesirable, the 
sooner it is removed the better. But what 
are undesirable positions? Suppose we take 
a few examples. We have, let us say, an 
autumn set orchard in which is a tree with 
two branches that are of equal size and that 
Flowers of the Redbud tree open before the leaves ap- 
pear. They are developed during the previous season and 
"rest” over winter 
form a distinct capital Y — the “sling” shape 
of the small boy. Each of these branches is 
undesirable with respect to the other because 
as the tree grows older each will 
pull against the other and in all 
probability, will split when loaded 
with fruit or ice. How shall such 
a case be treated ? 
I hree things may be done. 
I. Prune off one of the limbs 
close to the main trunk at once. 
This is often undesirable because 
it will leave a rather large wound 
(proportionately speaking) and 
therefore probably a weak spot 
because of the slow healing. 2. 
Cut one of the limbs back to a 
6- or 8-inch stub so it will make 
scarcely any growth while the 
other limb is developing during 
the next year or two. Then cut 
off the stub close to the trunk. 
I he wound wilK’thus be propor- 
tionately smaller, will therefore 
heal more (juickly and will not 
likely leave a weak spot — if the 
cut is properly made. 3. Cut 
one of the limbs back rather sev- 
erely — perhaps 50 to 75 per cent. 
— and the other only a little, say 
25 per cent. The result will be 
that the severely shortened 
branch will become secondary 
while the slightly shortened 
one will develop into a 
leader. 
Branches in other un- 
desirable positions include 
those that will interfere 
with or cross others in the 
interior of the tree; those 
that grow one above the 
other so the low^er one is 
deprived of light and air 
and thus suffers in ability 
to produce good fruit; those 
that tend to develop too 
rapidly — far beyond the 
general outline of the tree; 
and those that tend to raise 
the top of the tree higher 
than is considered desirable. 
In each of these cases the 
remedy is suggested by the 
branch itself. One, the 
poorer, of the interfering 
ones should be cut out en- 
tirely; so also of the ones 
that shade lower branches. 
Those that tend to grow too 
long or TOO high should be 
shortened more or less sev- 
erely depending upon the 
case in hand. 
W hen pruning is done 
while the trees are small, 
the wounds should heal in a 
single season. But often, 
as in my own experience, 
the trees have been neg- 
lected for perhaps many 
years and have developed 
all sorts of bad habits of 
grow’th, what can be done? 
The first thing I have ahvays done is to clear 
away all the suckers if there are any around 
the base of the tranks. The presence of 
these, by the way, indicates that the roots 
are in good condition and there is plenty of 
pow'er to secure crude food but that the top 
is not functioning properly. 
Branch of an apple tree cut into sections. The gnarly fruit spurs are easily recognized 
Double handled pruning shears with differently formed blades. Such tools are use- 
ful for heavy work as in recovering oid trees 
Next I cut off as many as possible of the 
dead branches before cutting any living 
ones because their removal permits better 
judgment to be passed upon the balance 
of the tree. I hen follow' the certainly unde- 
sirable branches — those interfering with others, 
those too tall growing, etc. I have always 
found it a good plan in 
doing such work first to 
cut the large branches a 
foot or more from their 
points of attachment to 
the trunk or the main 
limbs so as to leave a 
stub to be removed 
later, d hus I avoid the 
tearing sure to occur 
when the cuts are made 
close to these points. 
It is also a good plan 
to make three cuts, the 
first below' the limb at 
the selected distance 
out, the second on the 
upper side just above 
the first cut and the 
third close to the trunk, 
when only the stub or 
stump of the branch re- 
mains to be cut. 
Countless experi- 
ments have demon- 
strated that the closer 
the final cut is to the 
direction of sap flow in 
the remaining branch 
or the trunk, the 
quicker will be the 
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