The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-11-13
The Proper Management of Decidu-
Gus Fruit Trees.

IL M. SIrlngIeuOW, president or the
Texas horticultural society. and a fruit
grower of extended experience, contrib
utes to the Farmer and Ranch the follow
ing suggestions relative to the pruning
and training of fruit trees:
l. | cut back the tops of peach, plum
apple and pear trees to two feet, leaving a
single stem. If the tree is a Chinese
hybrid pear, and grown from a cutting,
the entire root system will have cma-
mated from the lower end. These trees
make no side roots for several years. [
cut of all roots to one inch, practically
making a cutting Of the tree again In
every instance this causes the tree to strike
strong, deep roots like a Seeding instead
of lateral roots, as it inevitably will if the
roots are left even six inches long and
spread out when planted. If the tree is
Seeding peach, plum or apple, l cut
back the tap root to within six inches Of
the collar and cut off all side roots to one
half inch. If the tree has been trans
planted before and has only lateral syS-
TEN, cut of everything to one inch, as
in the case of the pear. The object in all
this is to initiate nature as closely as pos
Sible. She starts her trees from cuttings
and seed, with neither tops nor roots, and
universal experience proves that such
trees, if never moved, are the heartiest,
longest lived and most productive
2. | make hole just large enough to re-
ceive the tree, having plowed the ground
deeply and pulyerized it well. | am in
clined to believe, from recent expert
ments, that we do not plant our trees
deep enough If the ground is naturally
well drained and rolling, | am satisfied
that all trees should be set ten or twelve
inches deep. Last year | had pear
peach and plum trees that had been
heeled in eighteen inches deep and left
there for several weeks after the growth
had started, ana all of them grew off with
astonishing vigor, and when taken up had
an abundance of strong, new roots
B. If it is desired to have the tree
branch low | would allow three shoots to
grow unTestrained the first year and to
cut back in winter to within two feet of
the old wood. shortening in to a few
inches all side shoots that are lett. If the
tree has made extra strong growth
would leave three feet of the main stems
l would allow all shoots on pear trees to
grow and at the end of the season cut
back to a rounding head, but cut out
nothing. | believe in close heads for pear
trees with an abundance of foliage to take
up and dispose of the rush Of sap after
heavy rains in May and June. ! believe it
is a congcs lion of sap in over-pruned and
thinned-out pear trees that produces
blight. | made quite number Of inquiries
thepast season among growers in different
parts OF the state who had been visited
with this disease, and in every instance
the pruning had Decn heavy and con-
tinuous. Pruning should cease af or
the fifth year. My pear trees are simply
great, OvergrOwn bushes, twenty-five to
thir5y-1ivc feet high, and have never had
a single visitor who did not condemn their
style of training. many going so far as to
tell me frankly the whole thing looked
absurd. Yet good judges have said that
largely over 1900 Bushels of fruit
were blown of or knocked down
in gathering, the whole ground
at times under the 800
trees being literally covered, and in addi-
tion to this, | have up 10 date sold S0Jj
bushels of pears OF of thes3 13 acres.
and have still in my packing house and
on the trees. about 600 bushels moro Of
Kiefer. Most of the trees are planted
l2X25 feet. being practically pear hedges,
which according to the books, is also al
together wrong, but IL pays to be wrong
when a man can net over all expenses
over 81, 900 from 10 acres, and then make
a big mistake in letting his trees over
bear and in late blowing, as l did this
year.
a. AS to pruning promoting fruitfulness,
don't think it ever does; il faC5 / am
sure IL mas H. severe, strong tendency
the other way in pear trees, and all
young trees before the bearing habit is
well established. But it is an absolute
necessity that peach and plum trees, and
even apple and pear trees, should be
shortened in moderately as theygrow old
Thousands of pear trees are annually
killed by over-bearing. In fact, ithas come
to be considered the proper thing all over
the country for the peach to die the fifth
or sixth year. And this is perfectly
natural when we consider the treatment
it receives. First it is planted in 90 out
of 100 cases, with long lateral roots,
thus inducing the tree 10 throw
out its feeders from these
and become permanently surface
rooted, as any one can see by digging up
one when it dies Secondly, the pillow is
annually ripped through the orchard,
cutting away half of these surface roots:
and thirdly, the long, struggling limbs
are allowed to overload themselves with
fruit enough for three trees, while it
never seems TO occur to the owner that
trees as well as stock need extra food for
such heavy work. My peach orchard re-
ceived one ton per acre of cOtOon-seed
meal annually four years, and ever
after an average of 500 pounds Of phos-