Montgomery County sentinel., 1884-03-07

PRUNING FRUIT TREES.

As the winter draws near its close and
spring approaches, it is time to consider
what may be done in the orchard. The
present time is the best for pruning, and
by and by grating may be done. Prun-
ing is done for the purpose Of removing
surplus wood and encouraging fruitful
ness. A tree in full vigor will make a
large quantity Of wood, and excess of
wood is not consistent with abundant
fruit bearing. As rule, fecundity both
in plant and animal life is less in pro-
portion to the exuberance or luxuriance
of growth and development A plant in
somewhat poor soil blossoms more freely
than one that luxuriates in a rich garden,
and severe cutting back and root prun
ing are practiced by the gardener both
to procure abundant flowers and large
crops of fruit. Highly fed and pam
pered animals increase very much more
slowly than those more hardly kept, and
it is general complaint among the own
ers of high bred and we'll fed stock that
they fail to reproduce themselves salts
factorily. II is on this account that the
fruit grower must prune his trees, so as
to turn their vigor Of growth from the
production of useless wood to that of
profitable fruit. Besides, if all the wood
Of tree should bear fruit, the vigor of
the tree would be insufficient for the ma
turity Of so great production of seed
and the crop would consist of poor and
proftless specimens in place ef salable
fruit. Therefore the bearing power Of
the tree needs to be controlled and kept
within such bounds as will ensure
moderate product of desirable fruit, in
stead of an excessive growth that would
be worthless. In pruning tree, then,
the object is to reduce the quantity of
bearing wood. Usually this may be suf-
fciently done by cutting away branches
that grow too closely together, cross each
other or grow out of moderate bounds
and interfere with the even or conven-
lent distribution of limbs OF branches
Before any wood is cut away the tree
should be well studied, and all the
branches that may be properly cut should
be marked by means of small saw fis-
tened to the end of a long pole. When
the orchard has thus been gone over,
the work may be begun. A saw should
be used, and never an axe. A smooth
cut will readily heal over, but rough
chopping with an axe will not, and be-
sides some consideration should be given
to the neatness as well as to the effect
ivencss Of the work. All large limbs
should be cut of close to the body of the
; tree, SO that no projecting stump is left,
and care should be taken that the limb
in falling may not break and tear the
wood and bark on the under side. All
small branches should be cut off close to
the limbs, and all cuts should be pared
smooth with knife or u sharp chisel tc
encourage healing and covering with new
bark. This will also prevent the growth
of sprouts which will require cutting oul
the next year. In selecting the wood
which is to be cut away, all that should
De taken whlch grows TOO thicKly; thost
branches which cross and mat with other,
should be removed, the head of the tree
should be opened out, and where the new
wood has grown out of proportion, this
should be cut back to one-halfi its length
The design should be to distribute the
bearing wood that is we'll supplied witt
fruit buds evenly over the tree, and tC
reduce it in quantity so that the tree will
not overbear and exhaust itself In prun.
lug young trees the design should be tc
form the head so that no limbs will have
to be cut away hereafter, and to chccl
exuberant growth aud form stocky, firm
well-proportioned limbs that are able tt
bear up load of fruit without dropping
too much, when called upor to do SO.