Jasper County Democrat, Volume 14, Number 87, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 February 1912 — PRUNING CORRECTLY INCREASES SIZE AND IMPROVES QUALITY [ARTICLE]

PRUNING CORRECTLY INCREASES SIZE AND IMPROVES QUALITY

Important to Know Which Limbs are Useless and Which Valuable—Apple Trees Should be Kept Low and Open so Spray and Light May Reach Everywhere—Aid In Picking. _

ithe limbs easily and the fruit be gath- - sered easily. You may take advantage of a year ■when cold has killed the fruit to rid peach trees of all surplus wood. They will stand a great deal of pruning and should be cut back so as to have just as little useless wood as possible. The larger limbs may be left as stubs, I but there should be plenty of one-year 'limbs left to renew the top. trees do not need so much i pruning, but it is well to keep the tree in the preper shape with the top fairly open so that insecticides and sprays may be applied if necessary. A knowledge of the variety is needed to 'insure a proper pruning of the plum tree.

Pruning done correctly will increase the size and Improve the quality of most common fruits. The expense of picking will be lessened and the expense of handling will not be so great, because there will be more of the first grade and less of the poorer grades of fruits. Then the results of spraying will be more satisfactory and, if the tree has been pruned,-injuries to the wood and fungous pests are not so likely to be present... This was the information given a few days ago by D. E. Lewis, assistant in horticulture at the Kansas Agricultural college. The object of pruning, Mr. Lewis says, is to obtain as much good fruit as possible from as little wood as pos-