WSm 
Vol. LXX. No. 4117. 
NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 23, 1911. 
WEEKLY, $1.00 PER YEAR 
SUMMER PRUNING ORCHARD TREES. 
The Western Way. 
In looking over the various reasons why we wish 
to prune orchard trees we can readily list the follow¬ 
ing reasons: 
1. To shape the tree. 
2. To correct a poor habit. 
3. To remove surplus parts. 
4. To remove injured or diseased parts. 
5. To facilitate spraying, thinning, and harvesting. 
2-YEAR PEACII BEFORE PRUNING. Fig, 3(54. 
G. To overcome the influence of prevailing winds. 
7. To stimulate wood growth. 
8. To stimulate fruit-bud formation. 
While these points cover orchard pruning in general, 
those which apply most strongly to Summer pruning 
are, 3, To remove surplus parts, and 8, To stimulate 
2-YEAR APPLE BEFORE SUMMER PRUNING. Fig. 305. 
fruit-bud formation. Of course we can prune in the 
Summer to accomplish the objects of 1, 2, 4, and 6, 
and, for the West at least, this is better done in the 
Summer if the tree is healthy and vigorous, and has 
passed through its first three or four formative periods, 
because at that time pruning with any of these objects 
in mind will influence the formation of fruit buds. 
Now, Winter pruning is a stimulus to wood growth, 
hut as we know from experience that we get increased 
wood growth by pruning any time from October to 
June our term may be misleading, for we can do Win¬ 
ter pruning as late as June—not to say, however, that 
that is the best time. So that leaves July, August and 
September as Summer pruning time—ample time when 
we know that the period for best work for this object 
on an individual tree is of about two weeks duration 
only. 
Pruning to remove surplus parts may be done m the 
early part of the Summer if the trees are vigorous 
and in need of pruning, but to confine the discussion 
to the young tree, we- find the following to be true. 
Every healthy young tree, say of any age up to five 
years, is starting and developing from two to three times 
as many shoots, or young branches, as there is room 
for in the head of the tree—that is, we find a number 
of surplus parts. If these extra shoots are allowed 
to mature they each have taken, their part of the 
strength of the tree to reach their maturity only to 
be removed at Winter pruning time. Now, to re¬ 
move them when they are young, watery and im¬ 
mature, immediately relieves the young tree of the 
2-Y'EAR APPLE SUMMER PRUNED. Fig. 3(50. 
necessity for spending its strength in maturing them, 
and it can devote that strength to extended growth or 
increased diameter of the desirable shoots that are left 
and to the better maturing and strengthening of those 
parts. Of course this removal of shoots takes away 
considerable leaf area, so for a weak tree this is better 
left until, by removing these parts, we can induce 
vigor or stimulate wood growth—Winter pruning. 
Now, this thinning out is not intended to act as a 
stimulus for fruit-bud formation at all, but simply to 
assist in the general building up of a vigorous, healthy 
framework in the developing tree. It might be com¬ 
pared to the thinning out of vegetables planted too 
closely in a row—we remove some that the remainder 
may be benefited. This work is done very extensively 
in the young orchards of the Northwest, and is a 
considerable help in the formation of vigorous, stocky 
young trees. The illustrations show how this is done, 
both for apple and peach, on the extensive tract 
planted by the Lewiston (Idaho) Land and Water 
Company. 
To stimulate the formation of fruit buds the work 
is more complex and the results cannot be guaranteed. 
But the tendency is strong for any tree to begin to 
develop fruit buds if its wood growth is checked, or if 
it is thrown out of its regular course in development. 
To be convinced of this we need only to look over a 
young orchard where the cultivator has been handled 
somewhat carelessly, and note that certain trees arc 
full of blossoms or fruit, while the majority are not. 
A close examination will almost always show the char¬ 
acteristic cultivator injury on the trunk of the young 
9-YEAR APPLE SUMMER PRUNED. Fig. 367. 
tree—a partial girdle. This, while partly starving the 
root has left a surplus of food in the top, and the 
stimulus has been strong enough to cause the devel¬ 
opment of fruit buds. 
Of course no one would advise the use of the culti¬ 
vator as a pruning tool, but we can get the same re- 
2-YEAR PEACH TREE SUMMER PRUNED. Fig. 368. 
suits with proper tools and not injure the tree. If, 
instead of knocking off a part of the bark of the 
trunk, we shorten in the ends of the branches in late 
Summer, we have again relieved the tree of the neces¬ 
sity for maturing some of its growth, this time the tips, 
and the tendency will be for a surplus of food to 
accumulate in the head of the young tree and the 
stimulus is present for the formation of fruit buds. 
So far we find nothing very difficult, but in the hoi c> 
and when it is another story. If we keep in mind the 
