Rensselaer Union, Volume 1, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 December 1868 — Pruning Fruit Trees. [ARTICLE]

Pruning Fruit Trees.

; lor the Union. There i-s no one* nubjeet in Pomology upon which there is such dij versity ot opinion as to the time I w hen, and the how, to trim or i prune fruit trees. Fruit trees, ss they come froni tho Nurseries, alw^ays have !Iteir full top, and always havo.their roots more, or-less mangled and bruised, and very much shortened. Often theybeen put bf the ground tw o or three Weeks, destroying the vitality of a large portion of the roots left. The planter, underthfc«c circumstances, cuts away two-third*, perchance all, of the top, to restore , the equilibrium betweeu the root i and the top. j This 1 hold to be all yroiig.-*-Wlien the tree was taken from the Nur«ery, much of the .root was destroyed and the spongiole* of the same, upon which tiie life of.the tree depends, are bruised and wilted and to perform their healthy funetions,consequently from this cause the tree bws received such a shock that it often require# all the vitality it has with the Lest ol planting and nursing to make it live; now to renew this biioek.by cutting away tho top is, |in mV opinion, the surest way either to stunt or kill the tree outright.

! It is not possible in a short artij cle like this to give the full plivsi- ! ology of flic growing tree. Suffice j it then to say that the vitality of a trge depends as much on a healthy top as a healthy root. The leaves are the lungs and breathe in oxygen which combines with the carbonic acid sent from the roots through appropriate .vessels, bv which process the sap is vitalised and sent through another set of vessels back to the roots,as nourishment, and upon which the tree chiefly lives. Now it follows as a matter of course j i if you deprive the newly set tree of | j nearly all its linilis yon,, rob rinf-ixs-lungsjn a great measure and there- j by prey cut the formation of healthy j | sap, without which the tree cannot ! thrive, and if, in the growing sea- 1 ! son, you deprive the tree of its i ; leaves for any considerable time, ' you will surely kill it. Several years ago; I bought two j thousand trees in a bad condition, j I Anxious to try ...the - experiment, I j j cut nearly all the tops from half of j j them, whilst the other half were planted with all their tops. The i most of the trees whose tops were out off died; those that lived have made a popr growth; while those not touched with the knife, have nearly all made fine trees. Since tbqt Uuic I have always trimmed and cut off all broken and bruised roots, and kqpimyknife away from the tops, when setting out young trees. After the trees have commenced growing and show full vi-‘ tality, then I nip off the terminal bud of every limb with my thumb i and finger. The next season after J the tree is fully established, 1 form ! the top |o suit myself with my ; thumb and finger, and pruning knife. Ibe vigor of the tree is stteh by this time, that it will bear without injury, a prudent use of the knife. , After this, tHtr less it is used the better. I shall have something more to to say an this subject next week. ' > Tei>i>y, lion. Board of Town Trustees hold their regular session forJamtary 18#9, next Monday. J3PTlnttor is worth itO cents £er pound in this market i -- 4 '"7 £3?’”Tliere is no pork in our market. . Ahe Sparling is selling best ruts ofcorn-fed beef at 15 cents per f po'uud. . .j '-.j, v.;-.., -iT ..r'-o i 'Mfri *t«j