*4 
PRUNING FRUIT TREES 
in many ways to keep trees from becoming very tall Tus can 
he done bv intelligent annual pruning. In Plate 11 . is snown 
a photograph of a successful young Colorado orchard that has been 
s everely head discussion has had to do entirely with apple trees. 
The same princes apply to most of the other fruits with the ex- 
firm of those like the peach which bear fruit on last season s 
cep H The oear is pruned^nuch the same as the apple, as are also 
ST Mu “ The latter should be headed lower 
ll* tLv reouire much less attention after the character of the top 
has been formed. The sour cherry and red or cultivated varieties 
of American plums require almost no pruning. The tops sho 
be very low. 
Pruning the Peach.— Peaches are borne on wood of the pre- 
j • p. vear ’ s growth consequently the training from the beginning 
should be somewhlt different from that given our other common 
fruit trees The importance of peach growing m the state will war¬ 
rant a brief description of methods of training and pruning. 
We must have the tops low, twelve to eighteen inches o clea 
imnV being ample. In fact the trees m some of our best orchards 
are headed lust above the surface of the ground. For tins reason 
medium sized, well grown yearling trees are always Parable to two 
yea i a te trees’are nearly Always cut off from the lower portion in 
the nursery so that it is rarely possible to make branches grow 
where theyf are ^wanted £ea(h g ^ ^ . g pro ^ ded with suitable 
laterals for forming a top. As soon as the tree is planted, cut the 
too back to from twenty four to thirty inches from the ground. 
Then reduce all of the laterals to spurs of from one to three buds. 
Manv of the remaining buds will soon start into active grow 
S a large number 5 small shoots result. The foliage wi l not 
Sv orotect the trunk from the sun but a large leaf surface is 
necessary for the preparation of plant food. The second spring 
tf i the trees receive their first pruning and the forma- 
t' el ,!f the too begins Select from three to five of the strongest 
and best placed branches to form the frame work. If the lowest one 
is fifteen mches above ground the upper one may well be twelve to 
teen inches higher. The intervening ones should be well space e- 
Jweenandsymmetrically arranged around the Stan so that therein 
be no open spaces, one-sidedness or crotches. T > , . 
ter how vigorous their growth may have been, should be cut back 
a half or two-thirds of their length, while all of the rest are remove 
entirely By making these main limbs short they become stout 
and stocky and the load of the matured top is borne close to the ce - 
tral trunk so that the strain is materially lessened. 
