108 
House & Garden’s 
The properly 
pruned apple tree 
has a low head, an 
open center, and 
is not cluttered up 
with a lot of un¬ 
productive but 
strength - consum¬ 
ing shoots 
SIMPLE 
SURGERY 
for 
FRUIT 
TREES 
( L ower left ) A 
view of the same 
tree before prun¬ 
ing shows a typi¬ 
cal example of the 
sort of neglect 
which cuts down 
the quality and 
she of the crop 
The thin, weak interior branches should 
be cut out. They bear little or no 
fruit, and during the growing season do 
much to obstruct that free air circulation 
so necessary to crop perfection 
When branches are 
removed they 
should be sawed 
off cleanly close to 
the trunk, leaving 
no stubs 
Allowing several branches 
to develop close together 
often results in bad 
splitting 
Young trees as well as old need con¬ 
structive pruning. At this period th • 
developing form of the tree is guided 
in the way it should go and its mature 
success largely determined 
(Lower center) Pruning 
and spraying the fruit 
trees for scale are both 
tasks for the winter 
A very weak for¬ 
mation. Sooner or 
later the tree will 
split at this triple 
crotch and be 
ruined 
