VOL. LXIX
INDIANAPOLIS, MAR. 28, 1914
NO. 13
Spring WorkThat Makes the Orchard Pay
Sprint; is the busiest time of the year
for the orchardist and the pruning
should be liui.shed as early in the season M is practicable in order that it
shall not crowd o*er onto the time
which should be taken for spraying
and the other orchard work.
To obtain the best resufts the pruning should be thorough but a mistake
which is commonly made, especially
where old orchards are being rejuvenated, is to cut the trees back too severely   the   lirst   mwn.        Pruning acts
How and When to Prune and Spray to Make the
Orchard Bear More Marketable Fruit
By Ernest M. Bailey
tent The orchardist cannot take
some set form and expect to train all
..I liis trees to that fcrm. Rather ■ he
must take some wide range which
shall embody all  of the best points and
Next to a knowledge of pruning the
most important thing is a kit of sharp
tools, All cuts should lie cleanly made
so thai the wounds will heart quickly,
in removing large limbs this is especl-
the trees of the state suffered any during the past mild winter. Probably
the greatest injury during the past cold
weather has been due to girdling by
mice or rabbits. This will often kill
a valuable tree if it is not attended to
promptly but a simple process of
bridge grafting the wound may be
made   to  heal  over  in  a  short  time.
Making  Bridge  Grafts.
For bridge grafting short  twig.-.,  just
long enough   to  bridge  the  (round, are
"STCDEXTS   ATTENDING   THK   EIGH'I   WEEKS'  WINTER  COURSE  AT   PURDUE.
Nearly two  hundred  students  are enrolled this year,  making the largest attendance at any winter course ever held at the University.    'Die general ag-
ricultural course  has the  largest enrollment, with  94 students;  animal husbandry is next, with 56; dairying third with 24, and home economics fourth  with
20.    There is  an  increase  in  every department this year except home economics.     This increase  shows the interest that  is being taken  in vocational  training, and the growing desire to know more  of  the science  of agriculture.
as an invigorator to the tree and tends
to make a heavy wood growth during
the following season. Thus an over-
vigorous heading in or thinning out of
the trees will result in the production
of water sprouts in profusion,
A much better plan is to prune the
trees a little each year and do the work
regularly each season. This will
eventually result in renewed vigor and
the old orchard will be brought back
to profitable bearing. In the case of
the orchard which has received the
proper care the problem will not be so
serious and the work will be easier.
Experience has shown pruning to be
one of the greatest aids which the
fruit grower has tn maintaining the
vigor and production of his trees and
in training them down to such a form
as to be easily handled in spraying and
picking but it must be borne ln mind
that it has its iimi'atlons.
Different varieties nnd even different
individuals in the plant world have
their peculiar mode of growth and this
can be  modified only to a certain  ex-
make  his    trees    conform    to    this as
nearly   as   possible.
Generally, in pruning, it is well to
bear in mind that the tree should be
short and stocky rather than long and
willowy. A low headed tree is much
easier and more economical to spray
and to pick from and in addition will
support the fruit much better than will
a tall thin tree. If the branches are
short and stocky they will bear up the
fruit whereas, if long and willowy, the
weight of the fruit will bend them to
the ground and split off no small number.
Prniiinjj Tools nnd How to Handle
Them.
It is especially desirable to develop
a strong framework and to meet this
the young trees should receive the
greatest care. Prune them down to
form a symmetrical head and they will
be much easier to handle during the
succeeding seasons. Keep the center
of the tree well thinned but leave
enough   growth   to  prevent  sunscald.
ally true. All cuts of this na«ure
should be made close up against the
trunk and Hush with it. Stubs should
never be. left as they furnish ideal
places for the entrance of decay and
disease.
After the pruning has been done and
the wounds have hart a lew days to
check and dry it is well to follow up
with a brush and a pot of heavy lead
paint or a large lump of grafting wax
and cover all of the larger wounds. In
orchards where the trees are very valuable it is sometimes the custom to
have a boy follow up and tip even the
smaller cuts in this manner. Nothing
but pure lead paint or grafting wax
should be used for this, however, as
poisonous materials are apt to injure
the tree. One Instance of this was
had where tar was used to cover the
wounds. As soon as warm weather
came it ran down over the branches
and killed all of the buds which it
happened  to touch.
Winter injured trees should receive
special  attention  but  it  Is  doubtful   If
cut from last year's wood. The ends
ot these are cut w> dge-shaped with a
sharp knife and one end inserted iu a
slight gash made into the bark and
wood of the tree ju«-t below the wound.
Between five and a dozen twigs are put
in in this manner and the free ends
are then set into similar, gashes above
the wound. Thus a bridge is formed
for carrying the sap to the tree and if
the wound and the gashes where the
twigs are inserted are well covered
over with grafting wax to prevent their
drying out a good strong union will be
effected and the tree will be none the
worse for the injury.
Strong, vigorous growing trees will
seldom be bothered by borers but
where they once gain entrance the only thing is to keep them down by digging out the larvae from the trunks
of the tree. The wood is usually dead
above where they are working and on
the peach they may be found by the
exuding gum. Where found they may
be dug out with a good sharp knife
Continued  on  page  4.