Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1913-03-28

| iAiNNh 81 SoSSt oiioNh lilQil IL
winter or early spring, when il
is more dormant.
If a tree pruned cleverly in
winter throws out great many
suckers, they may be thinned
out about July l to good advant-
age, Doing this, in fact. will
help to promote the formation OF
fruit buds, which may start two
years or more before they devel-
OPP into blossoms. 1t will be some
time before fruit appears on the
new growths, for apples are
borne on wood which is at least
two years old. If you cut a tree
back too hard, you see, you de.
stroy all the fruit buds and must
wait several years for fruit.
Trimming Il tree is not \ Job
TO be undertaken lightly. There
is 4 right and a wrong way of
doing the work. Most amateurs
do it the wrong way, and man
who knows how to do it properly
commands good wages in a com
mercial orchard. 1t is needless
to say that it is not work to be
done with an AK. AS a matter of
fact, it is possible to purchase a
whole battery of tools. but only
a few are really needed. A sharp
saw is indispensable. A pruning
hook on a long pole is con-
venient, and sometimes a saw
attached to a pole is made use
of. A pair of hand pruning
shears may be carried in the
pocket and used for removing
suckers within easy reach.
When Il limb is being cut off
the saw should lie kept as close
us possible to the trunk or tie
limb to which the one being re-
moved is attached. The cut
should. be perfectly smooth and
the bark should not be torn.
There is a little trick about saw
ing off large limbs which is well
worth knowing. If the cut is
made in the usual way, weight
of the limb will probably cause
it to break off when partly sawed
through and to take a long strip
of bark with it. Now, it a cut a
quarter way through the limb is
first made on the under side a
foot or more from the trunk,
and the saw then transferred to
the top and work confined in
the regular way, the limb will
split at the point where the UNI
der cut was made and break
clean. The the stub may be
sawed off close to the trunk. 1t
is q great mistake to leave a
stub. Many men do it because
they find saving easier, but de-
cay is almost sure to set in. The
death warrant of the tree may
be sealed by one careless act.
A pot of paint should be kept
at hand end every wound over
an inch in diameter painted over
to protect it from decay. 1t is
well to make the paint thick
considerable thicker than when
used for other purposes. Oil
and while lead may be mixed up
by the orchard man; and paint
is much better than tar, if APP
piled thick. In most old orchards
many trees are covered with
loose, rough bark where insect
pests love to hide. 1t is a capital
plan to scrape off all this loose
bark, taking care not to cut into
the live tissues of the tree.
There are regular scrapers, but
a dull hoe serves very well.
Oftentimes there are a number
of trees which bear only worth
less apples. 1t is not necessary
to cut them down. Graft them
instead, and soon you will be
eating nice fruit of any variety
you may desire. A tree which
has been set out less than five
years may be changed over en-
tirely in one season, but the
Work SnOulu ne Spfedu over
several seasons if the tree is
older. If over ten years old, it is
best to give three years to the
transformation, grating a third
of it each season. The work is
done in the spring when the
bark first loosens up. There are
several kinds Of graft, but the
cleft graft is the one to be used.
1t is in this way that the Won
derful trees bearing a half dozen
or even full dozen different
varieties are dealt with. 1t is
possible to grow as many differ
ent kinds of apples on a single
tree as one cares to make CRAFTS
of. Apple trees are very accom-
modating if properly handled.
Most Of the trees. sold by the
nurserymen are not grown from
seed of the varieties named.
The seeds are planted withc ut