The courier-index., 1917-11-23
PRUNE ORCHARDS
 AT RIGHT TIME
There Is No Orchard Operation That Seems To Be So Generally
 Understood.
By ]. S. Knox, Horticulturist, Exten- sion Division, University of Arkan-


 sion Division, University of Arkan-
 sas.
 that seems to be so generally. misun- derstood as that of pruning. 1t Is quite common even at the present time to go into the orchards and find trees that have been pruned for years with nothing more than a pole ax, and it is almost invariably the case that wherever the work is done in this way the trees are in bad condition. There was 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 a small cost there is no reason why we should half do the pruning work. A complete set of pruning implements, con- sis ting of a swivel blade pruning saw, pair of looping shears and pair of hand shears can be purchased for about $500, and these are all that the small orohardist 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- pies and pears, for instance, are borne on lateral buds of the past seasons growth. The removal or all or the short spurs or branches from the cen ter of a 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. It 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 fruit is grown on wood of the past seasons growth, it stands 10 reason that poor growth means a poor crop of fruit. It is well known fact that pruning is one of the best methods of stimulating growth in trees, and, generally speaking, trees making good vigorous growth are not so eas- fly Iilled by insect or disease as are those making a slower growth.
 There are several good reasons for pruning, some of which are as fol- lows:
 CD It corrects undesirable grow ing habits of trees. For instance, some fruits, such as pears. have a ten dency to grow straight upward with all of the branches in mass. This habit can be partly prevented at least by cutting to outside buds.
 (2N It makes the tree more nearly balanced. If one side of the tree be- comes 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 10 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
 (D 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 the fruit from the ground, then we have done away with great deal of unnecessary expense in the spraying and harvesting of the crop.
 (5) It lessens the chances of dis ease getting into the trees. Almost every year some of the branches die or a canker gets started on some part of the tree. If the dead branches are kept pruned out and the cankered limbs removed in time it may save the life of the tree.
 (6) It lessens the damage done by winds or by heavy loads of fruit, be- cause trees pruned regularly are of stronger, stcckier growth than are those not so pruned
 Prune at the Right Time.
 It should always be borne in mind that the first three or four years in the life of tree is the time to do the most vigorous pruning. At this early stage 1t is possible for us to shape the tree almost as we like, but if we wait until the tree is cid 1t is almost impossible to make it conform to our wishes. If you are interested in work of this kind and want assist ance in getting the work started, sion, Old Statehouse. Little Rock. Arkansas.