The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1893-06-03
n FARM AND 0
PRUNING AND THE HABITS OF
GROWTH in TREES.
Limbs Starting In Clusters-Raising Roots
Wet or Cooke Feed-vines ON
Houses 90 Farm Notes and
Home Hints.

5t&&% - OV OI AOVAOU COO- AAACS Oh $50
Houses 20 Farm Notes n
Home Hints.
The Art Of Pruning.
TO be a good pruner requires inn
agination-the same faculty that is
needed to make an artist. The
primer must be able not only to see
the tree as it is, but as it will he,
twenty years afterwards. On a little
tree, four or Eve years old, branches
two or three inches apart do not
seem too near. But how, when those
little half-inch branches become each
three or four inches in diameter? 1t
is plain that they would have all run
together in q mass, with rotten bark
and rottlng wood between. The good
pruner, therefore, must be able to
picture in his mind the future tree,
50 as to allow proper space for it's
development. It is much better to
have the head of a young tree appear
too thin, than to allow it to become
crowded. % :
A correspondent of Jul bright
ySang contemporary, Gardening, says:
Trees growing freely tend to put
forth a branch for every bud. In
order to forestall this propensity, dis
budding must be resorted to. The
best time to practice this is in the
spring, while the buds are starting.
While a tree is quite young, this dis
budding may be freely done, since no
fruit spurs will be formed there. But
later, when a good sized trunk, with
a duly proportional head has been
formed, many buds will start which
will not try to become branches, but
will merely grow to be spurs, bearing
fruit. If all trees had the same or
similar habits of growth. it would be
much easier to teach pruning in fruit
than it is. An experienced orchardist
can take a bright young person
through his orchard, show the pupil
all the various habits of growth Pc
culiar to species and varieties, and
illustrate good practice with the
reasons for it, ocularly demonstrable
to the pupil. It would take a long,
long time to teach these things in
print. It could not; indeed, be we'll
done except by liberal illustration.
"You are cutting that tree all to
pieces" is an anxious expression I
have heard when I have been solic-
tied to prune a little for a neighbour.
''sWell," I have to say, elf you had
taken off two limbs a year, 1 should
not now have to take off ten limbs
after five years of neglect" Never
theless, such necessary pruning is a
sort of buchery that is only less in
furious to the tree than to leave it
alone. These many large wounds.
and the removal of so much wood at
once are very harmful, and should
not be made necessary by careless
negligence. ..r
The habits of growth in different
trees necessitate a varied practice in
pruning, says the Farmers Voice.
Some varieties call for very little at
tention in this way, compared with
others. There is d variety of apple
trees called the Naked Limbed Green
ing, which illustrates this pc
culiarity. Other varieties are
vexatiously given to putting out
branches from every square inch oil
stem. These are they which must
have prompt and frequent attention,
and pruning in their case can be an
ticipated by persistent disbudding.
s'How many limbs should / start
withp" is a question often asked.
Here. Al elsewhere, we must take
council with the tree itself. Three
main limbs are better than more, as
q rule; but five or seven are some
times allowable. They should not
start in a cluster, for then they are
very Ire to break down at the
points of junction. From eight inches
to a foot between the points OF origin
should be allowed. Secondary
branches-branches from branches
must be managed on the same prin
ciple. If this is faithfully done, the
heads may appear painfully thin ani
open during the youth Of the trees,
but they will De found quite thick
enough as they get larger.