Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1896-05-28
POINTS ON PRUNING
PROPER METHOD OF DOING THE
WORK.
FACTS FOR FRUIT RAIsERs
How to Make Successful Warfare upon
Gophers Black Leg and It's Treat
ment--Farm Gossip and Notes OF
Much Importance.

Whether pruning should be done or
not is largely a question of circum.
.tances, and how 1t should be done de-
I ponds upon variety, location, age OF
trees, etc. 1t can be overdone, and II
/ done out of season will injure trees.
The personal disposition OF the primer
/ is likely to affect his work. If he be
+ severe. exact and thorough. trees are
/ aptto be oyer-pruned, II he is Of an
/ easy disposition, they are often too
much neglected. As a rule, apple
4 trees are neglected when young and
/ destroyed by over pruning when they
/ reach bearing age. More pruning is
I necessary Is southern ATTITUDES than IL
northern ones, and in the latter tie
liability to pruning is greater and
I the primer must be more cautious than
4 further south, or in moist cloudy or
I coast climates.
( Pruning may be done by removing
+ the branches from the stem. by taking
4 small branches from the larger ones,
or by cutting off the terminal growth.
which last is called heading in =
/ Nursery pruning ought to produce trees
/ at three years old with clean stems
4 from three to four and half feet, sew
eral branches at the top and so at
! tached that no branch is directly oppo-
! site another because where these
/ af0rks" ocnur fraac ara p,0ra N ~ ~ e,,f
/ fer from injury or disease. No rigid
rules can be laid down for making the
top OF every tree alike, and as this dis
cussion of the subject is not intended
F, for nurserymen, the consideration OF
nursery pruning will be omitted. Trees
received from the nursery ought 10 be
/ planted without any pruning. II is
common to cut back the branch % 10
make them correspond with the riots,
but this Is wrong with the ordinary
two, three or four-year-old apple trees
4 With large trees removed for shade
where nearly all the roots are left In
the ground, Ii Is all right, but with the
young nursery tree 1t is wrong. An
| important reason, il there were no
other, for not touching the newly
planted trees with knife is that they
| have had their powers taxed to survive
the shock of transplanting and they
need all their strength to live through
the first season, II wounds are made
they will only be imperfectly healed
and severe weather will be more in
| furious to them. Fungi and bacteria
will enter the wounds, too, AMI the
trees will be inoculated with the seeds
of death from the start.
1 II vigorous growth as been made
the first year after planting little
! pruning might be done the llrsG ali-
tumn, but. as a rule 1t is best to wait
until the second year and then any ar-
rors Of the nurseryman In heading"
or errors OF growth, may be corrected
and water sprouts may be removed. II
severe pruning on the stem Is neces-
sary. this is the year to do 1t. The
time to prune is question about which
there are differences of opinion. but we
think 1t best to do 1t when the growth
is most vigorous and when the sap has
become so active that it is depoSting
material for growth. The injured
parts then receive their share, and
tain. Pruning time Is when the leaves
| of the trees are about half formed late
I in May or June, depending on latitude
and then IL limbs are cut the wound
4 will remain green and fresh until the
tree encloses II with new growth, but
If branches are cut in early. winter or
I in the summer or late fall. when The
wound heals over they leave black
! ened knot from which troubles may and
/ often do arise that extend through the
whole tree. Necessary stem pruning,
( as has been said, ought to be done the
second year after planting, but do as
little stem pruning as possible. Uso
! very sharp knife: carry with You
strong solution OF carbolic acid and he-
| fore treating a fresh tree dip the knife
! blade into the solution so as to be GER
| tain that fungus or bacteria be not
carried from one tree 10 another, for
trees may be infested and at the same
! time look I'LL Il5Hl. AllSI lHc SlSS ~
pruned, cover the wound at once with
grating wax that is a little thin and
adhesive. In making the cut, do not
place the knife below the subject to be
removed, making a straight, clear trt
upward, but cut off the limbs at he
collar. An examination will show that
there il an enlargement below the
juncture OF the limb and the stem, or
of limb to limb, which extends up the
limb from one-sixth to one-fourth Its
thickness. Set the knife here to cut
inward, making sloping cut to the
stem. Such wounds heal quicker than
( IL cut very close. removing the collar
DO not cut 80 as to leave stub. as this
receiving new growth around 1t decays
making a point Of weakness. In the
north trees should be headed rather
low, increasing in height further south.
Four to five and half feet would be
called high headed. This, too, is a
subject upon which there ID differ
~