The Brinkley argus., 1917-11-23
PRUNE ORCHARDS
 AT RIGHT TIME
iFhere Is No Orchard Operation mat Seems To Be So Generally
 Understood.

By J. 5. kROX, tOrtlculluiisN' 1NS~A
 sion Division, University Of Arkan-
 sas.
 There is no other orchard operation xhst seems to be so generally misun- sierstood as that of pruning It IS quite common even at the present time to go into the orchards and ma trees that have been pruned for years with nothing more than pole ax, and 1t is almost invariably the case That wherever the work Is done in this way the trees are in bad condition. There was a time years ago when the use of the axe was permissible, because there was nothing better on the market, but today when imple- ments made especially for pruning work can be had at small cost there is no reason why we should half do the pruning work. A complete set of pruning implements, con sisting of swivel blade pruning saw, pair of looping shears and pair of hand shears can be purchased for about $500, and these are all that ths small orchardist needs 10 do real first-class pruning work.
 Before beginning the pruning, one should first familiarize himself with the fruiting habits of his trees. Ap- ples and pears, for instance, are borne 4on lateral buds of the past seasons growth. The removal of all of the ;short spurs or branches from the cen Ter of tree may make it look better, but when it comes to the production of fruit it will all be near the ends of the branches consequently, the tree is less able to support the weight. llt should be remembered that the nearer the main body of the tree the fruit spur grows, the less the strain from the weight of the fruit will be son the tree. With peaches, since the fruit is grown on wood of the past ,ssason's growth, it stands to reason that poor growth means a poor crop of fruit. It Is we'll known fact that pruning is one of the best methods of stimulating growth in trees, and, generally speaking, trees making a good vigorous growth are not so cas- fly killed by insect or disease as are those making a slower growth.
 There are several good reasons for pruning, some of which are. as fol- iows:
 {I) It corrects undesirable grow 3ag habits 6 trees. For instance, sssme fruits. such as pears. have a ten sdency to grow straight upward with m of the branches in . mass. This habit can be partly prevented at least by cutting to outside buds.
 tO It makss the tree more nearly balanced. If one side of the tree be- spmes heavier than the other we can correct this by cutting back the heavy growing side to correspond with the lighter.
 (3) It allows the fruit to grow larg- CT and color better Every fruit bud that is left on a tree that is above what is really necessary is a disad- vantage to that tree and the remain ing ones are better off without it. When trees are kept pruned they are naturally of less dense growth, and this allows the sunshine to enter among the branches and color the fruit.
 (4 It facilitates the spraying and harvesting of the fruit. Trees kept pruned do not grow so tall as those not pruned, and if by pruning we can keep the trees headed low enough. so that we can both spray and gather have done away with great deal of unnecessary expense in the spraying and harvesting of the crop.
 f5) It lessens the chances of dis ease getting into the trees. Almost every year some of the branches die Of the tree. If the dead branches arc kept pruned out and the cankered limbs removed in time it may save the life of the tree.
 (6 IL lessens the damage done by winds or by heavy loads of fruit, bs cause trees pruned regularly arc of [ stronger. stockier growth than ars those not 90 pruned.
 Prune at the Right T,ms.
 It should always be borne ia mind that the first three or four years tn tAe life of a tree is the time to dc the most vigorous pruning. At this early stage it is possible for us to shape the tree almost as we like. but if we wait until the tree is old it is almost impossible to make 1t conform so our wishes. If you are interested in work of this kind and want assist ance in getting the work started. please write to the Exchange Divi. sion, Old Statehouse, Little Rock Arkansas.