Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-03-03
YOUNG FRUIT TREES
TREE SHOULD BEAR A LARGE
AMOUNT OF FOLIAGE DURING
ITS EARLY YEARS.
Valuable Suggestions as to the Proper
Care of Trees-Leaves Assist in
Forming the Wood and Bringing
Tree to Maturity.


The growing Of fruit trees is becom.
ing more popular each year with many
residents of Ottumwa who own homes
and adopt this means OF adding to the
beauty and increasing the value of
their property. AS spring approaches
the following suggestions from one
who has had years of experience in
raising fruit trees. as to the proper
way of pruning young trees will be
found of general interest:
When the young tree has become es-
tablished its formation for future use
fulness should begin. During its early
years a young tree should be allowed
to bear large amount Of foliage. The
more leaves it has the more wood 1t
is able to form and the quicker 1t
comes to maturity If the tree is quite
young and whiplike it's side buds
should be allowed to produce leaves all
the way up the stem. This will cause
| it to thicken up and become stout and
stalky.
Important Considerations.
If the tree is old enough to have a
good stout stem the side shoots may
be removed and the energy of the tree
directed towards the formation of the
head. From the trainers standpoint
this is the most important time in the
whole life history of the tree. If han
died rightly at this point the tree may
become useful, long lived, and produc
tive, but from wrong treatment it be
comes broken down and diseased and
throughout its limited existence will
always be an eyeSore as well as loss
to its owner.
One of the important considerations
in the training of a tree is the heigh,
Of starting the head. If trees are head
ed too low, cultivation about them is
difficult and sometimes almost impos
sible; and without cultivation the best
results in orcharding are not to be OBJ
tanned. The trees, too, are apt to be
injured and their limbs parked by the
names Of the horses. On the other
hand, if trees are headed too high il
is expensive to gather the fruit and
the long trunks are liable to become
sunscalded. The trees, too, are ex
posed more to wind and a large pro
portion of the fruit becomes windfalls
| viii Remain the Same.
| II uuSC W uuuSESlOOu LudL dL Wudt
ever height the head of tree is start
at that height it will always remain
If, for example limb be started al
five feet from the ground and that liml
is living twenty years after, it will b.
just five feet from the ground. Thu
| trunk after being once formed doe
not stretch up. its growth is then onl.
in thickness. All the growth in length
is made at the growing points of ter
minal buds. Young trees are some
times started too low with the ide;
that when at bearing age they will b.
up to the proper height.
| With such trees it becomes neces
sary when mature to trim them up
and the main branches are made tt
serve the purpose of trunk, thus max
ing more surface exposed to the, SUI
than if started high before. Three ant
one-half to four feet from the groun,
is good height, and the limbs shoult
| be started from the trunk so as to sui
| ficiently shade 1t from the sun. Spread
4 ing varieties such as the Burbanl
/ plums, should be started higher up, be
cause they have a tendency to droor
Upright growers. such as Kieffer pear
may be started lower, for the cree
r