The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1881-03-26
Winter Management Of orchards.

1
i This is the season for pruning apple
trees. If the owner of an orchard could
bring himself to think of his trees al
sensible creatures, able to feel wher
they were cut and hacked with AK and
saw in an unmerciful manner, and able
to demonstrate against unnecessary
cruelty. he would approach his orchard
with better chance of doing his duty
by it. A tree should be used as care
fully as an animal, not, perhaps, on ac-
count of the ability of the animal to feel
and the avoidance of the cruelty of i'll
usage. but because, as an animal and q
tree are both kept for profit, and i'll
usage of either reduces the profit which
| we hope to derive from the keeping OF
1t, we can make more money by careful
and good treatment than by neglect
and bad management.
With these truths in mind, then, let
the owner of an orchard carefully ex-
anime his trees. Let him view each on
all sides and discover what branches
need to be removed to prevent crowd
ing and crossing on this side or that;
what limbs are decaying and carrying
4 disease into the heart of the tree; what
smaller growth on this side or that
should be taken away to balance the
| general form or to throw the current
of the sap toward weak and unthrifty
parts from those that are redundant.
Then with piece of chalk let the large
limbs and those smaller branches that
are within reach be marked. When the
whole orchard has thus been gone over
! it will be time to begin the work that
cannot be undone, with proper deliber-
alton and with a second careful view.
Now the tools are 20 be prepared. A
sufficiently long ladder should be pro-
vided for every orchard. Atool-basket
made of mating, or doubled gunny
bagging, or of carpet, will be found
useful. To make this, cut out an oval
piece three feet long and two feet wide;
bind the edge over piece of stout cord.
such as piece of clothes-line. leaving a
handle at each end of the oval. When
this is doubled or folded to bring the
handles together the lower edges near
the fold should be joined for about four
inches. This then makes sort of OPEN
mouthed. shallow bag. in which all the
tools may be carried to the orchard and
which can be hung up by the handles
in tie tool-shed when not in use. or
hung upon q wire hook on the ladder
when in use. The tools include long,
narrow, small toothed panel saw, which
should be kept sharp and rather wide
set, finer saw for light work. broad
chisel, curved-blade pruning knife,
and wide-mouthed preserve jar filed
with pruning paint, made of boiled
linseed-oil, bees-wax, and tallow in such
proportions as will make a thin paste
that can be laid on with brush Thus
prepared and provided the orchardist
begins the work of pruning. If any
doubt exists as to the propriety of re-
moving any limbor branch these should
have the benefit of the doubt 1t is
easier to cut off q branch or limb at
future time than to replace it once it is
removed. When the limb is to be re-
moved, the saw should be applied close
to the body of the tree and on the under
side until the saw is pinched in the cut
The upper part is then cut. By doing
this the limb will not tear the lower
bark when it falls. When there is dan
ger of large limb breaking in the adj
jacent wood in falling, the limb should
be cut up in parts and the stump left
until the last. When this is cut off the
wound is smoothly trimmed with the
chisel and covered over with the paint.
The cut viii quickly heal over by
growth of bark over the edges and
there will be no danger of the decay of
the wood, rs if projecting stump had
been left. When all the large limbs
have been taken off the excess of
smaller branches should be removed.
Wherever one crosses another, that
which can best be spared should be cut
away and every cut made should be
close to the leading wood and be
smoothed if necessary with the chisel
or the knife. Smooth cuts heal over
rapidly; torn and rough cuts do not,
but the bark dries and shrivels and the
wood under the dead bark soon dies
also. All sprouts from limbs should be
cut away close to the limbs and the cut
pared even with the bark; no more
sprouts will grow from a spot SO
trimmed.
One object of pruning is to keep the
tree m q good shape and condition so
as to avoid much cutting afterward.
And this leads us to consider how
young orchard should be treated. It
is an old and trite, but very true,
saving, that I" as the twig is bent the |
tree is inclined" So as the young tree
is trained the old one is formed. And
this should be made the maxim of every
owner of an orchard. and the principle |
at the root of all the work done in it. |
The training of young tree begins at |
the planting. Then the future main |
limbs are laid out, and if the work of |
Trainings closely attended to the finger |
and thumb may do most of the work,
and nothing larger than pocket-knif |
ever be needed thereafter in the orchard. |
Three or four main limbs only should |
be left and the early growth should be
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