River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1906-05-17


bud A, cut too close. C, cut too long;
B, properly cut.
Fig. 2.-Cutting large branches; A, stub
too long; c, wound too large; b, cut
making small wound and leaving short
stub.
Fig. S.-Pruning young apple trees.
when the tops get so thick that some.
thing has to be done, the large
branches are cut away. In other cases
the trees have not been pruned at all
and the tops are mass of water.
sprouts.
In most cases it will be impossible
to thin out the top of the tree by re.
moval of small branches only, thus
burning of the bark, which follows
when large branches are cut away.
In the case of large trees it may be
necessary to head back some of the
branches, in addition to thinning out
the surplus shoots.
To prune tree properly the work
should commence with the nursery
tree. When planted, only as many
branches should be left as will be
needed for the full-grown tree. Each
year after this the trees should be
looked over and all surplus shoots
that have started should be removed.
To do this work properly, one should
not only know what form of tree is
best suited to that region, but he
must know the habit of growth of
each variety, so that he may work in
accordance with nature and when
possible correct any of the defects
that are natural to the variety.
For young trees strong knife
answers, very well, and for larger ones
much of the work can be done with
hand shears. Pruning saws are
needed for large branches, and for
some purposes some of the lever
shears may be used.
To secure the best results it is i'm
portant that the cuts should be made
at the right point. Fig. L shows the
method of cutting small branches
back to a bud and also the improper
places to cut them. If cut too long
a bad stub will be formed, while il
cut too close beneath the bud, 1t will
dry out. The proper way is to have
them cut on the side opposite, about
even with it's tip, and, with a slant
Of about 30 degrees from cut at right
angles, come out just above the bud.
Even greater care should be taken
in cutting off large branches. Some
times the cut is made at right angles
to the branch that is cut This
leaves a bad stub, which will be un-
slightly and the end Of which will
heal over very slowly, if at all. AS
a rule the interior of the stub decays,
and cavity is formed in the tree.
On the other hand, the cut is often
made parallel with the main trunk or
branch This Is sometimes all right,
but generally there is a large shoulder
of considerable size is produced.
By cutting at an angle of Is
degrees or 20 degrees from the
last-named cut, the wound would
often be reduced in size fully
one-half, and it would not project so
far but that the healing would be
even more rapid than with parallel
cut. The method of making the three
cuts is shown in Fig. 2. For the ord
mary planter an apple tree should be
two years old, five feet high and three
quarters of an inch to one inch in di-
ameter. When it is planted it should be
pruned so that it will have about
four branches as in Fig 3. The
cross-marks in the illustration show
where these branches are to be
headed back; all the others should be
removed. When the tree has a strong
center shoot it is often desirable to
leave this nearly twice as long as the
other branches.
If the trees have large roots that
have ragged ends or that have been
broken in handling. they should be
cut off smoothly. This applies to
trees of all kinds.
When the tres are OF IN open habit
it is a good plan, says Prairie
Farmer, to head back the branches
from onefourth to one-half. This
will strengthen the trunk and
branches. The same rules can be
followed as the trees develop. All
dead branches and the watersprouts,
if not needed to fill up the head,
should be cut out, and if the tree be-
comes too thick the thinning out
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