RURAL NEW-YORKER 
373 
Training the Young Trees 
Part II. 
Stiffening the Trunk. —Lately wo 
have been trying in a small way the ex- 
l)eriment of leaving some more branehes 
on the trees as we set them out. We lind 
that there seems to be some help in the 
way of stiffening the trunk, and perhaps 
in increased growth. Probably we shall 
go a little farther in some cases, and 
leave limbs about all the way uj) on a 
few trees to see what will happen. In 
theory this should have a goo<l effect. It 
should make it harder for a careless 
workman to get near enough to the tree 
to hurt it. This advantage will weigh 
against the loss caused by having larger 
branches to cut off later. Also it should 
make the trees grow faster in height and 
breadth. Those who have studied the 
growth of forest trees tell us that the 
trees which stand entirely alone grow 
tall much faster than those which are 
crowded in any way. But, they also say 
that if the lower limbs of such a tree are 
cut off it will grow slowly just as if it 
had been hurt by the shading of another 
tree. As the trees get large enough to 
interfere with cultivation, these lower 
branches will have to be headed back and 
linally cut off. 
Training Young Tree.s.— ^The present 
condition of the nurserj* business is such 
that we can hardly get trees that luive 
not been treated so as to have ii three or 
four-parted crotch. Trimming off all but 
one branch of this leaves a point where 
the tree is weak, and remains weak for 
.some time. It seems to use th.at a ]»erson 
who knew some time beforehand wliat he 
was likely to want to plant would do well 
to buy small-sized trees and put them out 
in the nursery iwv to be trained three or 
four years* before planting. If there was 
any doubt of the trueness to name of 
these trees they could be tested while be¬ 
ing thus groaA-n to proper size and shape 
for planting. If received in dormant con¬ 
dition. a side branch from each could be 
cut off, marked so that it would be pos¬ 
sible to tell for several years what tree 
it came from, and put in cold storage. 
After the weather had warnu'd up so that 
the bark would slij) on luuiidng triu's a 
bud or two from each of these blanches 
could be set in some bearing tree. 'I'liese 
should start at once, and many of them 
should fruit the next year. Sundy in 
two years it should be possible to* say 
with assurance what and how many va¬ 
rieties were in the lot, and how many 
tree.s of each. 
‘•Ueformed” Trees. —A recent article 
in a popular agricultural journal (don’t 
call it farm jiaper) told how the writer 
had “reformed” an orchard which had 
been grown according to the leader sy.s- 
tem for several years. Thi.s “reform” ap- 
jiarently consisti'd in cutting the trees 
down nearly to the ground and letting 
(hree or four trunks grow up where there 
had been one before. .ludging from the 
pictures, it will be not more than 20 
years until more than half of the trees 
will be ruiiKKl by the breaking down of 
these weak <‘rotches, unless there is a 
great deal of very expensive jiroiiping. 
.V proi>erly traineil leadi'r type tree will 
never need propi)ing unless accident or 
disease should open out one side of it so 
that too much sj)ace is taken up by a sin¬ 
gle limb. 
Setting in Sqit.vres. —Many of the 
“experts” are lately telling us that we are 
wasting much v;iluable si)ace by planting 
our trees in s<uiares. They give beautiful 
diagrams in winch the trees are Tej)resent- 
ed by cirles. They make great calcula¬ 
tions to show how much of the space is 
iinu.sed in .sciuare idanting, and how much 
more closely the trees cun be .spa<*e<l in 
triangular or hexagonal systems. I can 
wish them no more conu)lete misfortune 
than that th(\v should be (lompelh'd to 
work in an orchard so pl:inted, es]>ecially 
if really low-headed and about ready to 
be thinned. It is hard to see how a tri¬ 
angular system can be thinned so as to 
ieavt* the trees evenly spaced and take 
(Hit le.ss than two-thirds of the trees. 
Half the tre«r4 can be taken out in a 
square planting and .still leave the trees 
evenly spaimd. Later, half tlie remainder 
can be taken out and the trees will stand 
twice as far apart as they were at the 
beginning. There are a numlier of or¬ 
chards near here in which the trees are 
lilanted in sciuares and in which they 
oc'cupy all the ground. \Ve do not want 
our trees so close together. Whmi tree.s 
touch it is time to give them more i*oom, 
and we do it by deciding which trees are 
to be taken out and starting to head 
them back. First we cut out .some of the 
smaller branches which reach across. 
The next time more small branches and 
some larger limbs. The next tinu* more 
large limbs or the whole tree. Tin* jiic- 
ture on this page of a Baldwin cherry tree 
shows about the last stage. Next time 
the large limb extending to the right and 
the smaller one behind will have to go, 
aim perhaps part of the central stem, 
"his will leave so little that it msiy be 
decided better to take it all out. To give 
the best quality of fruit and in the great¬ 
est quantity the trees should not touch 
at any point. The roots will occuiiy all 
the ground long before the trees nearly 
reach each other. 
PruiNING Si'ggestion.s. —We do not 
agree wth the authorities who tell us to 
trim off half or two-thirds of the new 
growth of the pear trees each year to 
make them branch and to keep them vig¬ 
orous. They will branch as much as any¬ 
one needs if they keep all the growth 
they make each year, and should be more 
vigorous without that setback. A recent 
article in the above-mentioned agricul¬ 
tural journal tells of the remarkable suc- 
ce.ss of a man who cut back all the new 
growth of his jiear trees to two or three 
buds every year The pictures did not 
look different from our trees, which had 
not been cut back at all. Ortainly they 
were no more bushy. It seems * to us 
that any succe.ss under such circum¬ 
stances would be remarkable. Peadi trees 
must be trimmed back heavily each year 
to keep them in a thrifty condition, but 
this is not so much that the cutting .stim¬ 
ulates wood growth as that removes a 
vast number of fruit buds, and enables 
^une of the vitality of the tree to go 
into wood production. The onlj* varieties 
of pears which we find need much heading 
back are Kieffer and Sheldon, which will 
grow so tall that they must be dishorned 
occasionally. These varieties have such 
serious objecti'uis that we are not plant¬ 
ing any more and are pulling out those 
we have. Sheldon is a fine varietv, but 
the stem is .so thick, .stiff and brittle that 
a very slight v.dnd will shake it off. To 
save our crop we have to pick .some time 
before the pears are fully matured, and 
even then tln( wind often catches u.s. 
Kieffer is a pi'ofitable variety, but it 
Heading Back Baldwin Cherry 
ripens at the .same time as the mass of 
oiu* Baldwin apiiles, and we must either 
pick too green, or stop in the midst of 
picking more valuable fruit. Sour cher- 
rie.s require very little pruning. Cutting 
off limbs which are too low and an occa¬ 
sional dead or crossing branch is the ex¬ 
tent of our treafiiKMit. ai.frki) c. WEED. 
AVayne Co., N. Y. 
Farmers’ Week at Cornell 
Part II. 
Dr. C. F. AVarren. head of the farm 
management deiiartmeiit of the college, 
was intriKluced a.s having done more to 
interpret the life and work of the farmer 
to the public than any other man. Dr. 
AA''arren is conceded to know more of the 
actual output of the various countries of 
the world in crojis and animal products 
than auiuuie (dse toilay. He jireseiited a 
long .series of the most complete data as 
to^ the iiroduction of the warring coun¬ 
tries and nearby neiitrahs for a period of 
many years preceding the war and up to 
the present time. IVrhaps the most 
alarming information of the week was 
conveyed in one table showing that while 
America’s production was not far from 
normal in Ifflti and 11)17, the production 
of England, Fran<;e, Norway, Swed<*n and 
other neutrals was far below normal, 
while in IDld Rii.ssia’.s crop and animal 
output varied from 20 jier cent to .Y1 per 
cent above normal. AA’^heii one considers 
the vastness of re.sources of the 02 gov¬ 
ernments comprising Russia one cannot 
but be genuinely alarmed to know that 
(Jermany will now have this vast ri^erve 
to draw upon. America must produce 
her maximum or the war will be lost or 
most painfully jirolonged. 
Dr. Warren was heard with great inter¬ 
est and profit on several other vital topics 
during the weeK, and it was the consensus 
of opinion that New York farmers owe 
more to him than they can ever rejiay. 
A new featuK! marked the eleventh an¬ 
nual Farmers’ AA’eek meeting. Hereto¬ 
fore farmers have gone to their State 
College to li.sten and ab.sorb instruction. 
Thi.s year they were given an opportunity 
to express themselves, their problems anil 
their views of legislation and rulings af¬ 
fecting them. The first farmers’ forum 
was held in Bailey Hall Thur.sday after¬ 
noon. directly after the three great speech¬ 
es of the week, I’resident Schurman’s. 
.Tohn Mitchell’s and Dr. A\ 'arren’s. H. E. 
Babcock, head of the conservation divis¬ 
ion of the State Food Administration, 
presided. The immense hall was well 
(Continued on page 275) 
CORN 
for ensilage 
Don t take for granted your corn will grow this season. 
Only about one out of every five cribs is now showing a 
germination of over 25 per cent. 
Stokes Ensilage Corn shows a germination around 85 
per cent and over. 
Until our present supply is exhausted (the supply grown 
in eastern Pennsylvania and in the northern corn belt of New 
Jersey) we offer any of the following varieties at $5 per 
bushel, net cash with order, f. o. b. shipping point: 
IMPROVED LEAMING 
REID’S YELLOW DENT 
EUREKA ENSILAGE 
Full legal bushel, weight of bag included, but no extra charge 
for bags. The Government has lifted all embargoes on seeds. 
All varieties will make good silage sorts for New York, Pennsyl¬ 
vania, New Jersey, Indiana, Illinois and southern Michigan. 
Granges, farmers’ clubs, and wholesale buyers should write 
for special quantity rates. 
Orders will be accepted in rotation received. We advise 
immediate action, as our supply is limited. 
Write for free leaflet which fully describes the above varieties. 
Let us also ser^d you our Garden Seed Catalog, free on request 
Stokes Seed Farms Compeiny 
Seed Farms: 
Moorestown, N. J. 
Retail Store: 
219 Market St., Philadelphia 
Hoffman’s Seed Oats 
Unstained—not sprouted—sound—white— 
clean-SIX VARIETIES—6of/i "aide" and 
tree" types —all hegvy yielders. List 
includes the famous‘VVhite Tar- 
tar”—“Bumper Crop”—also_ 
pure strain of “Swedish^, 
select.” These Oats 
will increase 
your yields. 
\1 
Lfe> 
iw 1918 
Seed Book 
Offers seeds for every farm crop 
and tells how to Brow them. Specializes 
in Alfalfa, Soy Beans—Field Peas—Seed Po¬ 
tatoes—Seed Com for silage and cribbing. Hoff¬ 
man’s Seed Book is sent free with oats and other 
samples if you mention this paper. Wnto today. 
A. H. HOFFMAN, Inc. 
Landisville, Lancaster County, Pa. 
QPirn OORM OOLOEN OKANGK 
flint, ».'5bu. KE1> 
COK, GIANT ENSILAtiK,IS3.50. Special 
iirico on car lots. Order Early. Sample for stamp. 
HARRY VAIL. Warwick. Ouangk Co., N. Y. 
RECLEANED ALFALFA TESTED 
Hardy Bakota Grown Alfalfa .Seed Registored 
and ledigreod Strains a specialty. Dakota 
Grimm, Disco 19A ami Baltic Alfalfa. Hardy ns 
the hardiest. Write to.day for samples, catalog 
and circular. See the seed, read the proof. 
DAKOTA IMPROVED SEED CO. 
807 Lawler Street _Mitchell. So. Dak. 
GUARANTEED GENUINE 
• Everlasting A % C 1 1* 
Grimm Alfalfa 
Most economical and prolitable to sow as It produce# 
plants which do not winterkill like other varieties: larger 
yield, higher feeding value. Booklet, “How I discovered 
tfi 0 Orliiiin Alfalta,” witli t(*Ntirooi)lalM and star} saniplo 
A. Be LYMAN, Grimm Alfalfa Introducer 
Alfalfadale Farm, Excelsio r, Minn. 
and"Ftoral GUIDE 
VICK’S 
For Cfl year.s the leading autliorily - 
on Vegetahle, Flower and Fariii For 
I'lants iiml Bulbs. Better . 
rveaay than ever. Send fur free copy today. 1910 
Now 
JAMES VICK’S SONS 
39 Stone Street 
Rochester, N. Y. 
HARDY BERRY PLANTS 
Best varieties of Blackberries, Raspberries. Strawberries, 
Currants and Uoosclierries. Also Asiiarugus, Uhuburb, 
l*ruit Irees and Ornamentals. .Sjtecial discount oa 
early orders, (ieo. D. Aiken, Box M, Putney.Vt. 
For Sa I e-L'mited Amount Seed Wheat ® 
Sample for stamp. 
.. .. . -per cwl, 
C.G. .Schryvor, Umar, N.Y. 
If Tested 
I SEED CORN 
Full oPLiB? 
andVfpoi' 
^EVERySAcij 
iJiiis a tAGil 
showing I'l 
puaiTf ij 
•utcl 
. M 
20,000 BUSHELS 
HV Yellow Flint, Gold 
vFv/Im Nugget, Sanford’s Flint, 
Luce’s Favorite. Average gerniiiiation 
above varieties 90%. 
Early White Cap Yellow Dent, Early Yellow 
Dent, Improved Learning, Mammoth White Dent, 
Big Red Dent and Drought Proof. 
Average germination Dent varieties above and 
sold direct to you on our 10-day-money-back-if- 
you-want-it guarantee, subject to any test you 
choose to make, at lower prices than the same high 
quality can be bought for elsewhere. Let us solve 
your Seed Corn problem. 
Dibble’s Farm Seed Catalog 
Samples and Special Price list—FREE 
Edward F. Dibble Seedgrower 
HONEOYE FALLS, N. Y., Box B 
Headquarters for Farm Seeds 
“NEARLY 2,000 ACRES m the DIBBLE FARMS” 
