, 1858-08-13
AgricQIiufs.


How to Induce Early Fruitlng In Orchard Trees.
Though ] have been practically familiar
with fruit and fruit trees for over thirty years,
it must be confessed ! knew comparatively
nothing Of the operation Of cause and effect, in,
their relation to fruit-growing, till after be-
ginning to theorize, some dozen years ago.
Within the last eight years, l raised an or.
chard comprising the choice varieties Of ap-
pies, and some Of the favorite cherries and
pears, all of which, with the exception Of
four, have successfully withstOOd the Ii ling
effect of the winter Of 1861. If it will
be of interest to you, | will give an account
Of this orchard, in detail, within q few
weeks at present will cOnfnc my remarks
to the subject named in the commencement.
For some years it has been the custom
among many Orchardists to keep down the
head growth of apple and other trees by
pinching of the shoots, and checking the
formation of sap into wood, shoots, or
branches, and thus indirectly diverting its
circulation and promoting the formation of
fruitbuds, and by this means securing early
fruiting. That such is the effect Of pinching
know from Eve or six years experience on
the orchard above alluded to. There are many
proofs which might be adduced that early fruit
ing is much facilitated by judicious Pinching
or summer pruning, several times repeated in
each season, but will assume 1t to be, as It
probably is generally admitted as an estab-
lished fact or principle, and propose to show
that effective results can be much increased
by more extended application of it.
1t is generally believed that the branches
and roots of trees extend to corresponding
lengths, when there is no obstruction to pre-
vent such mutual extension; and cultivators,
whose intelligence has led them to adopt the
practice of pinching, will generally have af.
forded their trees such depth and lOOseness Of
soil as are necessary to such effect. IT, then,
the roots have equal facilities, they will grow
as long as the tops or branches would were
they not kept back by being pinched of:
Now 1t certainly results in such cases that
much of the sap that would have gone to
make branch-wood will go to make roots in.
stead Of fruit buds, and thus destroy the bal.
ance between root and top that is natural to
unabridged growth, and equally necessary to
early fruiting. Often roots attain length
of several feet; the necessity of them for tho
mechanical support of the tree must be
very slight, and surely there is no more rea.
son for leaving q number of large dispropo--
tionate roots and branches, IL Il is wished TO
convert the prepared sap into fruit instead
Of superAuOus wood, either under or above
ground. Again, il the system of pinching
leads to larger amount of foliage or feed
ing surface in proportion to the bulk Of
wood, as it appears to do in numerous small
branches, than would be the case were the
same bulk Of wood comprised in only few
large ones, the same rule holds as to roots.
If the sap going to make roots can be direct
ed into half dozen small instead Of one
large root, much larger extent of surface
win be provided for the natural root service
of the tree. Now If this be correct, we
should prune the roots, supposing their
growth not to be obstructed- it is not
necessarily in any soil Of fair quality-eigh-
teen or at least twelve inches deep, as they
must generally extend horizontally, in SINH.
Jar proportion as the tops are pruned. The
summer would probably be the best time for
doing this, at the time Of midsummer or most
rapid growth; they would then heal rapidly.
] would not prnne either root or branch the
first year after setting out, or in the case of
gratmg seedlings, after they have been
transPlanted.
But the second year would dig trench
two feet deep, making its inside diameter a
foot larger than the hole dug when the tree
waSplantedj l. e., suPPOsing the hole the tree