Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1876-03-24
Pruning Bearing Orchards.

TREES which are kept in good shape
while young will not be likely to need
much pruning when they become older
Rubbing off With his fingers a small green
supernumerary shoot in time will save the
trouble of saving off a large limb in after
years. But il is not often that orchards
receive this perfect management; the
owner is sometimes absent from home, or
pressed with other cares, at the time when
the pruning should be performed, and
needless branches and dense bushy tops
are the result As the trees become still
older the time required to cut away what
Is not wanted and is detrimental con-
tinues to prevent the owner from giving
attention to the subject, and he does not
like to commit the work to blundering
laborer.
We have adopted n practice by which
any hired man may prune an orchard of
the most valuable trees, with as much ac-
curacy and skill as it could be doneby the
best horticulturist, or by the owner stand
ing by and directing every motion. We
can do it even better, because any one can
mark out WORK to greater advantage if he
has but one object in view before his eyes,
than if his attention is constantly distracted.
We pass along the rows OF trees, and
with piece of chalk in hand draw line
at the base of any limb requiring removal,
at the exact place where the workman is
to set in his saw or knife. With this single
object before us, we can do better than if
constantly compelled to cut and then look
and cut and look continually. And we
can thus point out to man who has the
saw the exact spot for cutting much better
than to stand Wy and continue to give YER
h,1 Jiro,tinpS Tho thnu 10
out in half an hour work enough to keep
the laborer busy for half "a day, and he
needs no watching, for he cannot go
wrong.
1t usually happens that the limbs in a
bearing orchard are beyond the ordinary
reach of chalk in hand. In this case VT
attach the chalk TO u slender pole, We
find the small chalk cylinders used fol
blackboard exercises in schools the mos
convenient in this case. A round, slen
der rod several feet in length is procured
the smaller end of which is of the samt
size as the cylinder. \ strip of pastebSard
is wound around one end and secured by
chord, and projects an inch or two be
yond the end of the stick. In the paste
| board thus formed the chalk is inserted, Sc
that the end only projects. The marker
is now ready for work. AS the chall
wears away in marking, the pasteboarC
| tube is slipped down a little, and thus /
| is ready for marking till all is worn away
when another replaces it. This contriv
ance answers perfectly for all smooth
barked trees, and we have found it a grea
convenience in pruning large neglected
pear orchard.
But when the bark is rough and th
limbs large, as in many apple orchards
| common coarse chalk will be found t,
answer best. This may be inserted in
slender, forked stick or pole by shawn!
away shallow groove on each side of th
chalk where it is to fit into the fork, ant
| tying it there.
In pruning trees it is desirable TO Civ
them an even, symmetrical head, ant
branches not too crowded and evenly dis
tributed over every part; and special car
| must be taken to avoid the common errO
of thinning ont in themiddle or interio
of the head, and leaving the smalle
branches dense mass over the outside
! 1t is better to thin in from the outsid
where thinning Is needed. But where thi
is not the case there will be occasionally
in nearly all orchards, crooked or crosse,
limbs that can be protitably spared
Register IF RuIdI Affairs.