**» KURAL NEW y >RKER 
Early Bearing of Standard Apple Varieties 
How Do You Make Them Start Working While Young,? 
Have you ever observed apple trees of standard 
varieties which come naturally into bearing ear¬ 
lier than usual? For example.' Baldwin. Spy, 
R. I. Greening or Sutton. They are usually slow 
to start—10 to 12 years in our locality. Some¬ 
times through injury, disease or weakness from 
insects the trees will start bearing early, or there 
may be something about the soil which drives 
them ahead. But in general such varieties are 
slow to start. We would like to know if you can 
cite cases where healthy trees of these standard 
varieties have started bearing at an early age. 
The Pruning May Help 
I NASMUCH as we do not grow Baldwins. 
Spy. R. I. Greening or Sutton in this 
vicinity, T have had no opportunity to note the 
growth of these varieties as to whether under 
certain conditions they might come into bear¬ 
ing earlier than they normally do. I can say 
this, however, with some varieties we do 
grow here, particularly York Imperial and 
Stayman W inesap. that we have brought them 
into bearing several years earlier than would 
he normally expected by system of pruning, or 
rather omitting pruning altogether during the 
first five or six years, 
after of course the ini- f ~ 
tial pruning at the time 
of planting. We experi¬ 
mented with this plan 
at the suggestion of Mr. 
Samuel Fraser. We have 
also followed the same 
plan on later planting 
of Stayman and Duchess 
with the same results. 
It looks as if on our 
original planting we did 
too much pruning dur¬ 
ing the early life of the 
tree, although there is 
possibly something to he 
said on the other side of 
the question in that if 
the tree is allowed to 
follow its own course it 
might not he as shapely 
as if pruned year by 
year, edwin c. tvsox. 
Adams Co.. Pa. 
A Tree Is as Young as 
Its Fruit Spurs 
T here is no ques- 
tion^many people in 
recent years have been 
somewhat misled by 
stories of early bearing 
of apples. Yet on the 
other hand, there is. I 
believe, more early bear¬ 
ing than many imagine, 
or at least realize. 
Simply because a tree does not bear a barrel or 
more does not mean non-bearing. A reasonable 
number of fruits to each square yard of surface is 
all that should he expected and there will never come 
a time when a little tree can bear as much as a big 
one. With this clearly in mind we are ready to 
consider things which may have a bearing on early 
production, and there are some things which to my 
mind are of vital importance, and first among these 
I should place pruning. 
Many people are of the opinion pruning is not 
very important, and in a way I am willing to agree: 
that is. with any kind of treatment or mistreat¬ 
ment, if the tree can be kept alive, it will eventually 
make a rather sightly and useful tree. I have many 
times wondered what the country would look like 
if all trees grew as their early training would 
warrant. There is just one point about pruning I 
will take up here. Anyone must realize all or prac¬ 
tically all fruit is borne upon fruit spurs. These 
normally begin to form upon the two-year wood, and 
with normal development, all parts of the tree should 
be well covered with these fruit spurs. How many 
you have of these, and their condition, must always 
govern how much fruit a tree will bear, unless biuls 
are killed. 
These spurs will normally bear fruit when they 
are from two to six years old. and as a rule must 
he that age to heni\ yet many fruit growers keep 
N‘ 
XeictOLcn from Tree Four Years Planted. Fig. S 
Exact Size and Appearance of Apples Found in a Bare1 Marked. “New York Standard Grade A.’’ Fig. 9 
these fruit spurs cleaned off the first four or five 
years' growth, and then wonder why they do not 
bear. As a matter of fact, any time a fruit spur 
is removed from a tree, either purposely or care¬ 
lessly. that tree never again has full bearing ability, 
and any time they are cleaned completely out of 
a young tree, one must wait two to six years from 
that date before fruit can he expected, to any great 
extent. 
This is only one of the many things which have to 
do with early bearing, and is simple as compared 
with the art of control and development of growth 
of fruit spurs. If the growth of trees is too slow, 
spurs will simply put on a fraction of an inch of 
growth each year, with a bud of just sufficient 
strength to put out each succeeding year a small 
rosette of leaves. Trees making growth of this 
character will be many years coming into bearing. 
On the other hand, over-stimulation of growth will 
mean, instead of blossoms and fruit from a spur, a 
strong shoot of new wood, ruining the fruit spurs 
as such entirely, and in my opinion the man who is 
most successful bringing his trees into early bearing 
will always be one who best understands the laws 
of tree growth, and because of that understanding 
is able to get into his trees each year the greatest 
amount of strength and energy, without forcing them 
into unnatural wood growth, at the expense of fruit. 
Columbia Co., N. Y. wm. hotauxg. 
A Well Balanced Tree 
pORMALLY an apple tree must have a cer¬ 
tain age before it begins to produce fruit. 
Eliminating physiological causes of early or 
premature bearing through injury, disease or 
weakened condition from insect attacks and 
considering an ideal tree, first, it must have 
health and stamina, everything in proper bal¬ 
ance, and it must be growing in soil reasonably 
fertile and capable of supplying all the needs 
of a growing tree, and the soil must not be too 
rich or loaded up with nitrogen. Then the 
tree must have culture, just enough to keep it 
Jaoving along, holding its balance and no more. 
When tillage is required, supply it; when fer¬ 
tility in required, supply it. Tlie tree must not 
be pruned to death in its early years. 
Such are the only conditions I know of that 
will induce early bearing. Even then there is 
yet the factor of individuality; one tree may 
start a year or two sooner than its immediate 
neighbor. Specifically I will mention the Bald- 
_„ win, as it grows here 
under conditions as de¬ 
scribed. Planting two- 
year-old trees I should 
expect some of them to 
show their first fruit at 
six to seven years: Jon¬ 
athan and McIntosh at 
five to six years. Much 
will depend on getting a 
good start the first year. 
I will l>e content to wait 
three or four years more 
before gathering for 
market from said trees. 
Greening and Sutton are 
two or three years later 
than Bald w i n, and 
Northern Spy still later. 
w. s. TEATOR. 
Dutchess Co., N. Y. 
Not Much but Theory 
W ITH reference to 
apple trees com¬ 
ing into bearing at an 
age earlier than is cus¬ 
tomary for respective 
varieties. I can give lit¬ 
tle real information. Of 
course, as you say. any 
variety will come into 
bearing earlier if trees 
are injured by borers or 
otherwise. The old cus¬ 
tom of driving a nail in 
a non-bearing tree to 
overcome the difficulty 
is not without its scientific explanation, but this does 
not discuss your query. I once knew a man who had 
considerable experience with old apple trees and 
who claimed that fruit of grafted trees is often con¬ 
siderably affected by the stock upon which they are 
grafted. Thus if a Summer Rambo scion were placed 
on York or Ben Davis stock, the resulting tree would 
bear apples of different type than if the scion were 
worked on Yellow Transparent stock. This was his 
theory. It could be tried out in grafting, but uot so 
well in budding. If this would work out with re¬ 
spect to season, why not as well with respect to 
earliness of bearing? It would simply be necessary 
to graft Spy scions on Wealthy stock in order to get 
plenty of Spy apples at an early age. Or perhaps 
I should say at an earlier age. for quite naturally 
(if there is anything in the theory at all) the oppo¬ 
site tendencies of each variety would be somewhat 
neutralized. So much for a bit of theory. 
Pennsylvania. david plank. 
Let Them Take Their Time 
NEVER knew a healthy standard tree of th 
varieties you mention to come into bearing unde 
about 10 years. I have an idea nature has provide' 
that these long-lived Winter varieties shall not com 
into bearing until they have attained a certain ag 
and a good vigorous body to withstand the strain o 
bearing fruit. The early-bearing varieties. I think 
