Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1888-09-15
TREE PRUNING.
HOW FAR 1T MAY BE PROFITABLY
ENGAGED In.
When Pruning Should be Done-Re-
suits of Experience and Observ-
alton by an HorticElturist.

|
In letter published in the Rural Cali
foTnian from A. j. Towner, of Santa Ana
he says:
! 10 prune or not to prune, is, as has been
SO often limited in the columns of the
R'trdt, much mooted question-to say
nothing OF the when and the how. In
hearing the pros and cons one is reminded
OF the old saying, "Who shall decide
when doctors disagree" Who? Nature
and common sense, let us answer.
A seven years experience on my fruit
ranch In Los Angeles county has practi-
cally shown me that there is more to he
learned from the trees themselves. than
from all the books in christendom. Some
like to get theory, and then fit facts to
1t; but the wise horticulturist goes for
| the facts and the results, and lets the
theories take care of themselves. As a
practical fruit-grower, l have been amused
to see how those who think more of theories
than facts will continually ignore the
latter, when opposed to their theories, even
though the facts be as plain as the nose
on their face" Several years ago my ideas
as to pruning, specially against the summer
pruning of the apricot, were freely ex
pressed in the Rural. Summer pruning
was all the go then, though it has since
wisely fallen into an innocuous disuetude.D
But 1t would be to the advantage of many
who still advocate severe pruning on other
varieties of fruit, if they would bethink
themselves little-learn of their trees
instead of books-and give their trees
chance to do well by them, instead of out
raging nature
For instance, the idea seems to prevail
that one should prune here in Southern
California more than elsewhere. This is
not so, unless irrigation is unwisely used.
Of course if trees are irrigated that do not
need it, they will, lowing to our soil and
climate" overgrow, and need pruniug-in
they would not otherwise require But who
can see the common sense of melting tree
to grow but to cut in? Not |, for one.
And as to more pruning being needed here
than elsewhere, circumstances being equal.
is not so, for, owing to the equableness of
our climate, and the long dry season of
rest for tree-life, tree-growths are not
nearly SO apt to be the kind that need the
knife, as In those short, sharp summers,
with spells of intense heat night and day,
interspersed with rains which prevail in
the more temperate zones, SO | would sug-
gest this to the practical fruit-grower:
Don't make your fruit trees grow more
than you want them to Just for the fun of
cutting them in. Save your strength from
irrigation and pruning to train your trees
as you want them to grow, and to pick the
surplus fruit you'll be sure to have if you
triU oha TO 10
Alongside this idea | have alluded to
above is another one, l think, needs ex-
ploding, viz: that trees in Southern Cali
fornia need to be trained with denser heads
than elsewhere, owing, as some phrase it,
to our perpetual sunshine "-(though
why that myth about our perpetual sun
shine" hasn't been exploded long ago, is
more than | can tell, or anyone who has
dried fruit for number of years in Los
Angeles comfy. We have our share of
cloudy days during the fruit season with
the rest of the world, even though we don't
have rain.)
But about those "dense heads" | was
referring to- do not believe in it, and |
would like anyone who does to step into
my apricot orch ard just now as it is in full
bearing and the fruit ripe, and see the
quality and kind of fruit tree heads that
have not been trained into dense heads,
and never summer-pruned. | think quail
ity and quantity Of fruit, as well as con-
veniences as to picking, are all in favor of
the loose against the densely-headed
fruit trees, ten or fifteen feet from the
ground. The fruit was sweeter and more
highly colored and favored than on those
low, densely- headed trees which have been
severely pruned in.
AS | have in the past been friend of the
apricot as against the Butcher" of
primer, so | would now be of the Bartlett
pear. In this, as in the apricot, | have
waited until L could prove my words by
my works, and their self-evident results
on my trees. Bartlett pears have most of
their fruit buds on the ends of their limbs
Those who severely prune them in can,
consequently, never get the crop they
should get considering the age of their
trees. If there is too much fruit, thin out
tie up or weave your branches together so
that the non-bearing branches will help
bear the weight of those in fruit. Then,
after the the harvest, cut back these pro-
truding branches - those which have
! borne-and the other branches will take
| their turn at bearing In my Bartlett
pear orchard L have never tried the severe
method of pruning, and consequently am
having heavy crops right along. Per contra,
/ know of an orchard of the same age as
mine, where the cutting-in advocated by
some has been tried and said orchard is
three gears behind mine as to quantity of
| fruit on the trees.
A word before closing as to the point of
pruning growing trees. | strongly dissent
from those who say fruit tree should be
pruned to any extent while getting its
growth. As in previous articles, advo-
cate tying the trees to train in shape
Use the knife as little as possible till the
tree has got its growth. Natures first
effort is to attain certain size, next to
bear fruit. | have six-year-old apricot
tree which has never been pruned, from
which | have just gathered enough fruit
to make fifty pounds of dried apricots.