The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1912-07-25

: about five limbs, | cut them hacl
4 in the ensuing spring about two
, thirds, and the third year the same
$ thirds, and the third year teh same
} While this is being done, sucker
+ at base or in the tree should be Gil
off, and the tree gradually open
ed. Gmayd, hoa0eveY, against open
, ing MP the center too much! Re
member, when the tree comes into
full bearing, this opening up pro-
cess is going on whether you wish
and need it or not, by the mere
weight of the fruit, and If the
tree is opened up about right
when it is young, the branches will
be upon the ground after several
seasons of fruit-bearing. By care
full pruning each variety can be
made to look like its neighbo- to
a great extent, and thus wonder
full similarity brought about in
what are naturally very dissimilar-
ly growing varieties. 1t is by these
means that | have brought about
that similarity in the trees in my
Dingley Dell orchard, that has
often been a matter of such aston
ishment to my eastern visitors, as
we'll as to Westerners ignorant OF
what may be done to tree by
careful pruning. A word of eau
ton to the orchardist, either opera
ting an orchard in this locality or
intending to become interested in
orchards. When you cut off a
large, or even middle sized limb,
see that it is cut as near to the
tree as possible neOer leaving
stub, and that the wound be covered
with wax or paint as soon after
cutting as dry surface can be OBJ
tanned. | have never seen any tree
paint or wax that will not need to
be applied more than once. AS
wax grows old, it will peal off and
crack as paint grows old, one coat
will not prevent the cut surface
from checking, even cracking OPP
en-. So | use paint made of pure
raw linseed oil and white lead
with whatever coloring natter you
choose. If you color the paint
with whatever coloring matter you
yellow, you can often get a color
so near that of the bark of the tree
that you can't see where the limb
was taken off in little while. Es-
pecially is this the case if you add
second and even third coat the
end of this season or the beginning
of the next. NeVer leave stubs or
implanted wounds for any length of
time, or the spores of wood de
stroying fungi will find entrance
through these wounds or proicc-
lions, and in time rot out the whole
of the center of the tree, thus rem
dering it liable to go down under
heavy loads of fruit and severe
storms.
THINNING AND PICKING.
Though these two operations are
far apart as to season, there is so
much common to both of them that
| choose to consider them togeth-
er to save time. No matter how
man prunes and Jul
tivates, unless he thins his fruit, he
can never raise the apples that
reach the "top-notch" prices. He
can't get size and uniformity by
any other means. A heavily fruit
ed tree should be thinned so that
10 two apples are nearer than four
inches, and better still six inches.
To do this, often take off three
fourths of the apples, sometimes
Many visitors to my
Oingley Dell orchard at thinning
lime have exclaimed at the appar-
mt waste of fruit, for when the
lpples are heavily set, and the thin
ling done properly, the surface
If the ground is SO covered by
.ut-off apples, that one cannot step,
,r even put the fingers down with