Vol. LXX. No. 4095. 
NEW YORK, APRIL 22, 1911. 
WEEKLY, $1.00 PER YEAR 
HOW TO PRUNE FRUIT TREES. 
Open Center on Pacific Coast. 
We are preparing a series of articles which will show 
just how practical fruit growers prune a tree. These re¬ 
ports will come from various parts of the 
country, for we have found that the practice 
varies greatly with different conditions. 
The first report comes from Oregon—writ¬ 
ten by Mr. W. Iv. Newell: 
Pruning a tree, like training a child, 
must begin at the beginning, and be 
carried on systematically. The tree must 
not be neglected for three or- four years, 
then cut and slashed to “bring it into 
shape.” We have two general systems 
of training the apple tree here in the 
Northwest, the center-stalk or leader 
system, and the open-center or vase¬ 
shaped tree. Each has its earnest ad¬ 
vocates, and each is followed more or 
less faithfully, according to the skill of 
the operator in attaining his ideal. But 
no matter which plan is followed, the 
foundation is invariably the same; a 
straight, well-grown one-year-old tree. 
No commercial orchardist here ever 
thinks of buying a two or three-year- 
old tree, as the yearling transplants bet¬ 
ter, grows faster, and it can be headed 
at the right height. Pruning should be¬ 
gin before planting by cutting off all dry 
or bruised ends of roots, or any gnarled 
and crooked roots, leaving them four to 
six inches long, and pointing outward 
and downward in as natural a position 
as possible. When the tree is set as it 
should be, two inches lower than it stood 
in the nursery, and the dirt well firmed, 
begin the pruning of the top by cutting 
it off 18 to 20 inches above the ground, 
being careful to leave the top bud turned 
toward the prevailing Summer wind. If 
there should be any side limbs below 
this cut head them in to two inches. If 
the lower buds start to grow rub them 
off in June or early July, leaving the 
upper five or six. No further pruning 
is necessary then until the next Spring. 
The second year pruning depends upon 
whether you are going to follow the 
leader or the open-center system. We 
will consider the leader plan first. 
Choose from three to five of the best 
placed limbs, removing the others, and 
head them back to one-half to one- 
third of their original length, according 
to the vigor of the growth; leave the 
most central one from four to six 
inches longer than the others. 
The third year select two or three 
limbs for each one of the branches left 
the year previous, cutting out all others,, 
and head them back the same as before 
to one-half or one-third of their length. 
Still maintain the leader and balance 
the top carefully. This should give a 
sturdy vigorous frame on which to build 
the future tree, and the following years 
the Winter pruning should be largely 
confined to thinning out, leaving the 
heading back to be done in the Summer. 
There can be no hard and fast rule for 
this, but conditions must govern. The 
vigorous-growing, light-producing trees 
must be heavily pruned in Summer, while the slow- 
growing, heavy bearers should be cut but lightly in 
Summer. Climatic conditions must be considered as 
well as the growth of the tree. Here in the Pacific 
Northwest, in the region lying west of the Cascade 
FIVE-YEAR-OLD APPLE TREE HEADED BACK IN AUGUST 
PREPARING A WELL-BALANCED TOP. Fig. 172. 
Mountains, we must Summer-pfune heavily, and the 
proper time is about August 15. East of the Cascades 
much less Summer pruning is needed, and the season 
for it is a little earlier. By judicious Summer pruning 
the small twigs along the main branches can be headed 
back ajid made to form fruit spurs the 
entire length of the branch, no matter 
what the general plan of shaping the tree 
may be, and this is the supreme object 
to be attained. By preventing the growth 
of long spindling branches we can keep 
the tree compact, close to the ground, 
and bearing a well distributed load of 
fruit over its entire surface. 
The open-center tree is for the care¬ 
ful orchardist usually the most satis¬ 
factory metlfod of training, but it must 
be supplemented by some method of 
propping or tying to support the limbs 
when they become heavily loaded. For 
the first year the treatment is exactly 
the same for the open-center trees as 
for the leader system; but at the begin¬ 
ning of the second season, in pruning, 
only three branches should be left, and 
the leader is removed. These three 
branches should balance as nearly as 
possible, but should not start from the 
tree at the same height. The third sea¬ 
son five or six of the best limbs should 
be left growing upright, forming as 
nearly as possible a circle around the 
op<?h center, and treated as leaders each 
one; that is, their side limbs cut back, 
and the center one forced ahead. This 
plan must be followed until the desired 
height is reached, when the tree is 
allowed to develop naturally, but care is 
taken at all times to keep the limbs cut 
out of the center. Naturally a tree 
pruned this way is not so well able to 
support itself as it would be with the 
leader system, but the advantage comes 
in the greater amount of bearing sur¬ 
face that can be kept close to the ground 
and at the same time thoroughly ex¬ 
posed to the sunlight. Some kind of 
artificial support is necessary, and is best 
provided by using a soft tarred yarn 
rope that is now manufactured for the 
purpose, and looping these upright limbs 
together clear around the circle. This 
soft rope will not injure the tree in the 
least, and it will last at least three 
years. By placing them on at the time 
the tree begins to bear they will last 
long enough for the tree to attain suf¬ 
ficient growth to be self-supporting. 
w. K. NEWELL. 
SAME TREE PRUNED TO OPEN CENTRE IN FEBRUARY. Fig. 173. 
LIME IN A MANURE SPREADER. 
If we clearly understand what W. H. 
P., Mumford, N. Y., wants to know, 
page 433, it is the best and least expen¬ 
sive way he can apply a carload of lump 
lime on his soil, at the rate of 1,000 to 
1,500 pounds per acre, at the same time 
distribute uniformly equal. Thinking 
our method of applying about 5,000 
bushels (200,000 pounds) burned lime 
on Crowell Farm might help, I gladly 
give it, for at best the job is very annoy¬ 
ing and unpleasant. Having burned the 
L 
