PRUNING FRUIT TREES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2161, 25 July 1895, Page 7

PRUNING FRUIT TREES.

Unpruced m trees generally show a great amount of growth. Many of them become a mass of wood, so dense that none of it is properly developed, and ths fruit; produced by such is always small and inferior in quality. It is equally as necessary to have the branches right as the roots if the be3t class of fruit is to be produced. Some may say that they will be content with second-rate fruit; so long as they can get plenty of it. Bat pruning does not imply a deQciency of fruit, and those who have once a little experienca of good fruit do not care to fall back on inf arior stuff if they can help it. The excuse is sometimes made that pruning has not been done because there was no one to do it that understood it ; but that is no excasa at all, as the cultivator must be a novice indeed if he or 6he cannot do something towards pruning after having simple directions given on the matter. The bssb results of pruning are always obtained where it was begun when the tree was young, and annually followed up. When the tree has been neglected for some years, and it is pruned, in the end it will not give such good results the first year afterwards as one that has been regularly pruned, but it will do so in time. No one is supposed to keep a tree with a great deal of dead wood in it, but where for some special reason such has been retained the first work of pruning is to cut all the dead wood out. This is merely a simple matter, but odd as it may appear, there are \ many who do nob seem to trouble to cat the 1 dead wood out of their trees. The unprofessional who prunes is generally afraid that too

I much is removed, but as a rule there is not enough taken aw&y. As I khow there are not a few who do not understand pruning, I will take each fruit separately,' and I will begin with that most common of all tree*; the ' "" ' "' ; APPLE. Those who grow apples in their vegetable gardens are afraid to allow them to grow up high. They have an idea that to do so would j interfere with the other crops, and that the | trees would shade all around them so much that uo'hing would grow under or near theoa. This might ba so if the trees wore grovn t"g-th'.r almost a? close as they could stand, but where they only grow here and there, which is the general way, there is little cUnger of their shade doing harm to anything, but there ia great danger of harm accruing in always cuttiug down the trees to a certain height or nob allowing them considerable freedom in the top. I do not know of anything that will produce canker quicker, or so severe as preventing a tree from growing up Yard j, and the finest trees, and certainly the most prolific I know of, are those that have naver been unduly out in on the tap, but have bsen allowed to retain from lft to 2ft of yo mg wood there till fchr.y had attained a height of from 12ft to 15fb. In pruning, therefore, make up your mind not to stump the tops in and act ace jvdingly. The growths that will bear the blossom and fruit next year are a small, nut-like bud at the end. The majority of these are found on or close to the main stems, and as many of them as possible should be retained ; but wherever the long growths of this year are crowded, cut some off altogether, and shorten the others 2in or so from where they originated. A sharp knife or pair of scissors that will make a clea,u cub should be mcd in pruning everything, and no hacking ought to be allowed. As a rule, the branches ought to stand 6in clear of each other, and none ot them ought to cross one another, as ia that case when it is windy the friction will injure the bark, and then canker bf gins. PEAKS. These are pruned on the same principle as the apples, bub I have noticed that they suffer much if cut hard down, al' hough I do not recommend this practice in their case either. When they are growing on walls do not let one branch hang down over the othor to shade it. All the young shoots that are growing outwards should be shortened back. Some old trees may have spurs on them that protrude a foot or more, but these are not convenient, and should be removed gradually, and others allowed to form that will be closer to the main branches. PLUMS. As a rule these are less productive ot yonng growth, and they are not apt to get so crowded Sometimes they will make a few very strong shoots, and a greater number of weaker ones. These very strong ones are not the most fruitful, and it; is bes 1 , to cat them off altogether, and let those of medium strength form the tree. There are plums, too, that will produce many growths several inches long, with a spine at the end of each, and "every end of that description should be cut off. Plums suffer less from neglect ia pruning than the preceding two. CHERRIES. Standard trees are not very ftp 1 ; ts bscome crowded, aa the branches have a habit of hanging loosely and free from each other. Tho fiuit is produced on the preceding season's shoots, and these must not be cut back like apples, but left their full length. The old branches may ba cut away, and wherever they are in a mass or too thick, thin some of them out altogether. Cherry trees growing againi.t walls need not have their shoots cut closely in, or nailed to the wall. If the main shoots are treated in this way, and the twigs allowed to sti k out in front, they will bear freely, and a full crop "will ba secured. Those who do not kuow their habit of fruiting might cut in all these front branches, and this would reduce the crop very much. GOOSEBERRIES. Here we have a popular fruit-bearing subject, and one that is as often neglected in pruning as any, the result being that tbe fruit is very small, with little juice, and no flavour worth recomoaendicg. On pruned bushes the quantities are reversed, and fruit of such fine quality is secured that many who eat it assert that "of all fruits none is more delicious than a good gooseberry." The gooseberry is pruned on tin same principle as the apple, and a thinly-wooded, well-balanced gooseberry bush that stands on a stem from Gin to lft in height is an ornamental subject. If the young shoots are very plentiful some of the spurs that produce them should be cut off altogether, bo as to avoid such a crowd another tims, and the main branches should always be sufficiently far apart that the hand

can. be inierted right into the middle of the bash without being «oratched when the fruit ia being gathered.

BED AND .WHITE CURKANTS. " These ' are pruned in all respects ' like the gooseberry.

BtACK CrmRANTS.

These are treated differently. They, like the cherry, bear on the young wood, and, instead of short euiog any of the shoots back, they should merely be thinned out. If a buih is larger than is desired do not cut tho points off it, but reduce it from the bottom. When the branches are old and thick, out some of them right out aud let young ones take their place. There should never be any old branches in a black currant bnsb, as it is always such an easy matter to furnish it with yonng wood.