Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1907-08-08
HEADS OF APPLE TREES.
Locality Has Much to Do with Style
Of Growth.

Whether the heads OF apple trees
should be compact or sparsely formed
depends to some extent on the local
ity In which the trees are grown.
There are lands of sunshine and
there are lands of cloudy skies. In
the states where much cloudy weather
exists during the growing season it is
necessary for the trees to catch as
much sunshine as possible, for the
ripening of the fruit and especially for
Its coloring. In some of the states 1t
is advisable to prune severely and
thin out the branches to make ii pos
sible for the sun to get at the fruit.
That condition is true of parts of New
England and parts of the Pacific
states toward the northwest. Even
In the eastern part of the United
States 1t pays to keep the heads OF
apple trees fairly well thinned out.
As we go west toward the Rocky
mountains the conditions change in
favor of the dense and compact heads.
The sun shines eternally during the
day time in several of the states west
OF the Missouri. The heat Injuries
the fruit where it pours upon it unob-
structed, and the sunlight is so abund-
ant that it colors up the fruit with
little or no trimming of the limbs.
The question of high and low heads
Is generally settled i'm favor of low
heads, especially in the western
states where the wind blows with
great force. The low heads protect
the fruit from being switched off and
where the trees are close together the
wind that blows upon an orchard is
detected upward by the thick. low
heads, while If the heads are high il
passes under the trees and through
them to great extent. This greatly
increases the danger Of the trees be-
ing broken by the wind.
There was a time when the whole
sentiment was in favor Of high headed
trees, says Farmers Review. The
farmers wanted enough room under
the trees so they could pillow about
them and drive about them easily
with the farm team and with the farm
implements. For several generations,
therefore the farmers planted their
trees so they could use the ground for
gardening. Those that remember the
old New England orchards remember
the tall-trunked trees, some of them
so long that a good sized ladder was
required to reach the first limbs.
There was no danger of the horses
hitting their heads when they plowed
about them.
But few Of those orchards are seen
now. They passed away with the com
ing of more intensive agriculture
Science pronounced them too expen-
sive in the way of time required for
harvesting their fruit The High-Top
Sweeting that bore apples at a long
distance from the ground no longer
has to be climbed and shaken to get
the fruit. II is no more. but in it's
place stands tree with head close to
the ground and with a trunk so short
that there is not room enough be-
tween it and the ground TO do any
climbing.
The modern mathematician has fig
ured out that the low-headed tree
costs far less to care for and gives as
good general results, though its fruit
may not be so highly colored. 1t is
easy to trim, for the trimmer can
reach about all the limbs from the
ground. 1t is easy TO spray. and less
spraying material is thrown away
than in the case of the taller tree 1t
costs little to gather its fruit. and the
fruit is less bruised when gathered.