The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1877-04-05
The Season for Pruning.

:77 The following seasonable article is
! from our valuable contemporary, the
Country Gentlemen: o. -
pa It is now admitted by all who have
i given attention to the subject, and it is
III accordance with both theory and prac-'
tice, that to favor free growth Of the
shoots and leaves, pruning should beper:;
formed, while trees are dormant, or leaf.
less. On the other hand; to check
|, growth, and to promote fruitfulness, the
pruning should be done ON the trees in
leaf and growing. Werknow of no culti-
vators who dissent from these truths. It
is commonly admitted, also, that summer
pruning favors more speedy healing of
the wounds. i Il. .-., =
Each season, therefore, has its peculiar
advantages Unless the, trees have super
abundant %jgor,. the pruning should not
be done after: the buds begin to SWELL.
Winter may be better. than early spring
for hardy trees; by allowing the fteshly-
cut faces to dry; and close the sap pores
before the commencement of growth
but, as cutting away branches always
makes trees more susceptible to the effects
of. cold, the work should not be- per-.
formed much before spring. on half-tender
trees. Pruned at this season of the year;
they are not checked in growth, as when
the work is done in summer, when the
tree must lose a portion of its leaves,
Eand become thus suddenly checked in
the performance of its functions.
Pruning in summer, or while the trees
are in leaf and growing, may be practiced
if they are in vigorous condition, and
but small portion is cut away at a time.
There can be no harm at any season in
removing q single misplaced shoot. A
better way is to rub off needless shoots as
they are starting, or to pinch off the ends
| to prevent extending, as this is not at
tended with large loss of leaves. If
trees. grow too fast to bear, general
pinching over the head, or summer
thinning of the shoots of the whole tree,
will tend to induce fruitfulness the Sec
.ond year. =.
AS we have already stated, summer
pruning usually favors the more speedy
healing Of the wounds where limbs Of
IUuCll SiZc stIC Gut Ou. lDQU cApeIlul6uGS
do not prove that pruning at this seasonI
is always best for the tree. James Red
path, of Iowa, cut off branch from an
apple tree in every month of the year,
and at the end Of five years, when all had
healed oyer, the wood was found least de-
cayed, on cutting into the tree, in those
pruned in February and March, and
most in those cut in June and July-the
latter having healed entirely over one
year the soonest. In another similar ex-
pertinent, all were healed over in four
years, with a similar result. The decay
from the summer pruning was about
three times as great as in winter.
In this connection we offer practical
hint for the mechanical removal of limbs
which require the use Of. the saw. To
prevent splitting the bark on the lower
side as the limb falls, first make small
cut beneath and opposite to the main cut
made by the saw above; or if they do
not quite coincide, let the lower. one be
slightly nearest the tree. This mode will
not only leave smoother face, but will
save time and trouble, to the operator,
who must otherwise hold the branch with
one of his hands or by an assistant. The
saving. off: Of the stumps above mentioned
| IS rapidly and easily done without any
such care.