Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1874-01-30

Il
to its base are arranged healthy fruit.spurs,
of which even the innefmost enjoy the neces-
sary advantages for the formation Of perfect
fruit. Ifpruning Of the trees during their
first years was neglected, and this is gene
rally the case, our orchardists will find their
branches closing in with each other so dense-
ly as to prevent the entrance of the full sun
light into the interior aud this will be filed
with a profusion Of sickly grow.hs. Only
the exterior will produce satisfactory fruit.
Nearly the entire use Of the interior will be
lost for, whatever fruit may there be pro-
duced, II will usually be inferior in size, de-
fcient in color, and lacking in flavor and
quality. The clearing up Of such tree,an
imperative necessity, is no light or agreeable
task. 1t will require the free use Of the
saw as well as the knife. Even with trees
whose perfect development has been eucour-
aged by a judicious and patient use Of the
knife, the occasional thinning with the knife
may not for many years be RENTED with
safety; and 1t will now aud again be neees-
sary to remove large limb with the saw.
As the weight Of fruit brings toward the
earth the lower limbs, their under branches
will be turned from the light and dew. As
the latter will perish, unless removed, they
will require frequent attention.
Nature provides SO bountiful supply Of
buds, in anticipation Of any exigencies that
may arise, and SO many Of these start into
! growth forming branches, spurs, etc., that
the orchardist needs be on the alert 10 remove
, those Of the latter which in the growth Of
, the tree have become useless, or worse than
useless. In state Of nature on every spe-
: cies Of tree these supernumerary twigs and
boughs, after they have served their ends,
! and are no longer needed in the economy of
the growing tree, perish. Having died they
J long dis6gure the tree, till decaying at their
, point of union with the living wood from
! contact with its moisture, they at last fall in
I the wind. They leave behind an unsightly
} stump, or at least wound, which it will
take the tree q long time 10 cover To aid
} Nature by promptly removing the useless
! limb and by caring for the wound is in horti.
! culture the Office Of man.
: Pruning TO form Dwarfs, etc.
Advantage is taken Of the fact that tree
may be nodded into almost any form by a
: free use Of the knife and by disbudding, to
create variety of artificial aud fanciful
forums adapted to special purposes. In cold
ATTITUDES fruit trees of all kinds are made "a
take the Aattencd, creeping form Of vines,
aud are trained upon warm walls. Some
times they are pruned in the shape of fan
: sometimes they are all led Obliquely in one
!, direction, being planted but a few feet apart
In ornamental gardening, particularly in
Europe, fruit trees are much employed for
= effect, trained In the form Of pyramids, vas
es, fencing, espaliers, cordons, etc., etc. The
summer pruning and pinching, which we have
seen weakens the tree is necessarily applied
d sometimes in connection with root-pruning, oil
y grating ON slow-growing stock, till an equili
i brium, as it is called, between the roots and
i the top is obtained, that is, till the top
y repeatedly defeated in its attempts to grow
y surrenders its aspirations for mounting intC
f the air in a natural manner, and contents it.
l. self with becoming q mere bush or leafy
b club. This condition is not unfavorable tC
IS fruitfulness; and the very finest and larges
70 specimens ever obtained Of some fruits ar,
i borne in espaliers and cordons.
5, Time For Pruning, sc.
l. 1t only remains to consider the best tint
n to prune, the manner Of performing thu
l. work, and the treatment of the wounds mad
e in the operation. The foliage Of tree i
n often compared to the lungs Of an animal
&c As nearly as a comparison instituted between
II the animal and vegetable kingdoms can hold
IF it performs the functions Of both the lung
/. aud the stomach From the roots the leave
a receive the crude sap, and, having decom
d posed it in contact with the air aud unde
ID the influence Of the light, give back tn
d product as assimilated food to build up tn
II tissues of the structure. To remove any
is considerable portion Of the foliage while thi
ID process of vegetable digestion is going on
5. that is, during the period Of active growth
= is to do violence to the tree which cal
a only be likened to semi-strangulation Ion
6. continued. In actual experience it is foun
c. to arrest all growth till the succeeding sea
T. son. The fact that wounds made in summe
dry and heal over most readily, affords
temptation to prune at that season. Wher
ly but a slight amount is necessary to b
is done, no perceptible injury will follow lin
es deed, this is the right time to rub off al
D. useless shoots, particularly the sprouts tina
e spring from the body and larger limbs OF tn
10 tree, in order to prevent their renewal); Blu
is the orchardist will defeat his very purpose O
Q. having the wounds cover rapidly, if tn
d amount Of pruning performed is sufficient :
III check the growth of the tree.
it So, we will say that the time to prune i
it any amount is while the tree remains at resi-
" Any reasonable amount Of pruning perform
fy ed at that time will give the tree no shock
is but on the contrary may give its growth
G. new impulse, because the whole supply O
es nourishment stored in tho roots and trun
t; will flow into the remaining branches. Pruu
n ing in late autumn, after the fall Of the lea
err is often advised, but in our extreme climat
IS, it cannot be pursued with safety except up
il on the hardest varieties, since flesh wound
to render tree more susceptible to cold. Th
g, dry and intensely cold atmosphere whic
i'd here prevails during so much Of our winter
It's constantly sucks moisture from the WOUND
es causing the wood TO dry to some depth with
ms in, and enlarging the wound by killing tn
ring of bark and albumen Immediately sur
Ii rounding it. Even in the alternating tree
is a circulation maintained, and these dryin
e. wounds tend 10 interrupt this circulation, oil
1t ten in the case of small trees and the Jesse
BIT branches causing the desiccatOn aud deaf
is of all the wood above them. For this rel
IT. son we will delay our pruning until the col
It, of winter is over, or till about the middle
a March. After that date it will be neceSsar
'ct to forward the work with despatch, beOaus
be if continued until the sap is in full flow an
ct the buds begin to swell, serious pleading
h. the wounds may ensue, resulting in waste
i'll sap and often in incurable canker. The la
in ter maniiests itself in a sour flow, continue
ID through the season, discOloring the bark u
lie on which it Oozes, inviting insects and flu
'st gus, and ending in certain decay.
ny Method OF Cutting. $3.50.
10 In removing branch the cut should
ed made 40 "a 10 leave "a short atump as Dos