I2 
tains weight which brings horizontal 
branches to the ground, and thus even 
high-headed trees are liable to continually 
increasing interference with cultivation, 
and the desperate grower has to raise the 
head of his tree higher into the air and 
farther above the profit line, while at. the 
game time he renders it more liable to sun- 
burn, to bark-bind.ng, and to unthrift by 
forcing the sap to flow an.unnecessary dis- 
tance and through wood and bark which 
impede its movement. Besides a low tree 
escapes stress by strong winds which a high 
tree invites, and at the same time is less 
able to withstand... Pruning for health 
and strength of the tree also includes ‘the 
remoyal- of -unthrifty or diseased - parts, 
which are not only an. encumberance to 
the tree, but’ may- communicate to other 
parts the causes of their ill condition. 
“Heat and Light.—The maintenance of 
-strong bearing wood in the lower part of 
the tree is conditioned upon the proper 
pruning of the top of the tree. How far 
the upper levels or the shade layer of the 
tree can be safely opened, depends upon 
the local climate in each fruit region. The 
rule must be the higher the summer heat 
the denser the tree—the lower the heat 
the thinner the tree; but everywhere the 
proper condition of openness must be con- 
stantly in view in pruning. Not alone 
must this be done to maintain thrifty 
growth below, but it is also essential to the 
best growth and ripening of the fruit in 
the lower and interior parts of the tree. 
Fruit inferior in size, color, and quality, 
results in part from lack of pruning to re- 
gulate the admission of light and heat, 
sometimes one,’ sometimes both, to the 
shaded portion of ‘the tree. 
“Bearing wood.—Good fruit develops on 
good bearing wood, and good bearing wood 
is the product of proper degrees of light 
and heat as has just been urged ; but bear- 
ing wood in the case of some fruits is new 
wood, and reduction of old wood for the 
purpose of forcing the growth of new wood 
must be constantly in mind. Renewal is 
more or less a consideration with all trees, 
and especially the securing) of strong new 
wood. This is a point upon which close 
study of the bearing tree will yield most 
satisfactory suggestions. 
“Size of Fruit.—The size of fruit, provid- 
ing the tree is healthy and vigorous, de- 
pends upon the character and amount of 
bearing wood which the tree is allowed to 
catry. Removal of part of the fruit bur- 
den is done by thinning after it 1s well 
set, but this labor should always be mini- 
mised by antecedent pruning, which ad- 
justs the retention of bearing wood, accord- 
ing to the vigor, size, and bearing habit of 
the tree. Thinning out of bearing shoots 
and spurs, when either are. clearly seen to 
be in excess, should be the constant study 
of the pruner. 
“Regular Bearing. —This point is largely 
involved in the preceding and affords an 
additional incejitive. 
amount of fruit borne in one year involves 
the profit of two years because a tree can-, 
not produce an excessive amount of good 
fruit and perfect fruit buds for the follow- 
ing year. It may generally make buds 
'. Regulating. the 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
SEPTEMBER .7, 1903. 
which will bloom but not always that. If 
it does make the bloom, it is no guarantee 
that the bloom will be strong and effective 
for bearing. Consequently pruning for 
reasonable amount of bearing should 
always be borne in view, and should be 
practised at the close of the year*of non- 
bearing with particular diligence, if the 
alternate years bearing habit is to 5e 
broken up.” 
The foregoing are among the practical 
purposes to be served in pruning, and it 
will be seen that there are various ends 
to attain; therefore have an ideal towards 
which to work and always have an object 
in view when severing branches, shoots, 
or spurs from any portion of the tree; 
never hy any chance losing an opportunity 
of picking up any points from your neigh- 
bor. | Bsa 
258 6 38 38 38> : 
| Staal 
FORM OF TREE. 
The form of tree which in New South 
Wales has been found to give the. greatest 
satisfaction is the low vase form (some- 
times called the goblet form), and which 
shelters the fruit as well as the trunk, and 
also the ground in the immediate vicinity 
of the tree from the hot summer winds 
and sun, and minimises their effects. In 
pruning for this form the central branch 
is cut out and the tree is so formed as to 
leave the centre of the tree quite open, 
and the fruiting wood is so guided that 
the centre, as well as the outside and the 
bottom as well as the top, has plenty of 
room and light to develop good fruiting 
wood in every portion of the tree. In 
confining the tree to this form it may, to 
a certain extent, tend to give it a dwarfed 
appearance ; but this is of little moment 
in comparison with the many advantages 
which trees so trained possess over the 
high stemmed open centred, long-limbed 
shape in our very hot districts. The 
weight of the fruit is borne by strong, 
sturdy branches, which will not bend and 
swing with every breeze which blows, and 
while the fruit may tend to spread the 
main branches a little, even this has no 
ill effect as the young growth found shoot- 
ing out of the branches and laterals 1s 
sufficient to shade the interior of the tree 
to such an extent that no harm befalls it. 
It is well to see that the main branches do 
not start from the trunk too close to each 
other. It 1s best to start them from dif- 
ferent points radiating around the tree and 
at equal distances apart trom each other. 
+ GB20-6S0086 e 
PRUNING TO OBTAIN A LOW HEAD 
AS APPLIED TO DIFFERENT 
- VARIETIES OF TREES, 
It.is as well to begin with the tree from 
the very start, which is at the time when 
it is transplanted from the nursery to the 
orchard, as a good beginning is half the 
battle. Assuming that a tree is about 
to be planted out, the first thing to do is 
to examine the roots carefully to ascertain 
how they have fared in their removal from 
the nursery, ad it is often found that the 
roots have been badly mutilated, especially 
in this country, where proper tree lifters or 
diggers are seldom used. Before plant- 
ing, all roots which have been broken or 
damaged should be cut away and all the 
young roots cut back to from within 6 to 
8 inches of the tap root. ~All small roots 
may be removed, leaving only the larger 
ones, as by digging up a tree which has 
been planted for some time it will be 
found, except in very rare cases, that the 
very small roots never throw out any 
young rootlets, but wither away and die, 
becoming a hiding place, perhaps, for the 
white ants, which often in time, through 
such medium, take possession of the tree 
and cause its ultimate death. The roots 
should be cut with a sharp knife, and in 
such manner that when the tree is planted 
the cut will face downward. By cutting 
this way, new roots, whith will form or 
rather grow from the cut, will have a ten- 
dency to grow in the required direction— 
downward. 
The next step to consider is as to how 
the top of the tree shall be dealt with 
This, of course, will depend largely on the 
age of the tree in question. If a two or 
three year old nursery tree, it may be ad- 
visable to leave either three or four short 
arms, as it is found that if the head is cut 
away, and only a straight trunk left, the 
top of the tree may not shoot, but will die, 
and the tree shoot from the root. This 
is often the case with the peach, but where 
a few shoots are left this danger is avoided. 
If a well-grown yearling tree, I would pre- 
fer cutting it back to a single stem. It 
must be borne in mind always that in mov- 
ing a tree it loses the greater portion of 
its roots, and that in consequence the re- 
maining roots are unable to sufficiently 
support or nourish the growth above 
ground, for which the whole root system 
was intended. We must, therefore, 
shorten the top in such a way as to re- 
establish the lost equilibrium, and the 
planter must bear in mind that is is al- 
ways better to cut a newly-planted tree 
back rather severely than to leave it with 
too much top, as by so doing it will re- 
cover more quickly, and in the end make 
a much better tree. 
wESeeetste 
Vesetabl (arden. 
2e6ege 
OPERATIONS FOR SEPTEMBER. 
By W. S. CAMPBELL. 
Judging from the cold weather exper- 
ienced in July and August it is probable 
that we may have a late spring. 
This is one of the busiest’ tames of the 
year with both vegetables and flowers in 
sowing, planting, pruning, lawn-making, 
walk-making, &c. 
With a good start in the spring, the 
