Show Around I A arc aT r- r i I J PRUNE APPLE TREES IN WINTER VINTER 10 1 MONTHS I IThe The old bearing apple trees c con n bo be j pruned most any time line during the winter win win- ter months when the weather la is not too cold Some folks prefer to wait walt till March but most farmers will wUl be bethinking bethinking thinking of other farm tarm activities at that time Most of ot the e essential tools tool for prima prun pruning ing are to be found In the tile chest gt or workroom of ot most farmers A good pair of heavy shears or loppers Is desirable de de- de- de sit With these limbs an Inch and n a pelf half b lt In diameter mn may be cut oft off more quickly than with a 11 s saw W. W A good saw with a n s 5 swivel ITe blade or a alon along along lon long narrow blade something like a keyhole saw should be bo provided This will enable the pruner to cut cot limbs that cannot be removed remo with the had hoad r shears or loppers I The fruit that Is formed on the old trees Is nearly always on the outside I I or on tho the top This Is particularly true when the trees have been allowed to form a dense growth On On the Interior In in- I I tenor todor of ot such trees a large Jarge unmeant amount of dead twigs and branches will be found The first thing for tor the pruner to do Is Isto s sto I to remove all dead or ds diseased branches brandies r Even Cn then It will be found that too many live branches remain The tree should be opened by cutting out out the smaller branches that grow I close dose to each other A Avoid told as far tar as possible cutting off oIT large limbs Twenty live per cent of ot the small I branches can be cut without materially material material- ly Iy y changing the shape of ot the tre tree However Howe It rarely larely Is desirable to remove remove remove re re- re- re move more than this at nt one time Unless Unless Un Un- less there Is some very ery good reason for so doing large limbs near the lie I bottom of ot a u tree should not be reI re re- re- re I moved ell Those that rest on the ground when the tree carries lea a R full load can cnn be relieved of a h paTt part of ot this difficulty by thinning out the small branches When large limbs have to be removed removed removed re re- re- re moved for any purpose make the cuts as close to the point of union with the trunk trunk- as 85 possible When stubs are left they soon decay and the decay decay decay de de- de- de cay spreads to the center of ot the tree Wounds made b. b by cutting off oft the larger branches should be covered with paint made from white lead lend and raw linseed linseed lin Un- seed oil It wo would world ld be better still if Jt a small amount of ot mercury were added to the thc paint If It the old trees to be he pruned have not been making sufficient growth of at wood live to six sU inches It would be bewell bewell bewell well to place a dressing of ot barn manure about It If the manure manures manure's 8 not to be lead had then four lour to sIx pounds of ot nitrate of soda spread evenly about the tree will accomplish the same res re- re s snits salts How far one should go in the expenditure expenditure ex ex- of ot time and money for fertilizers fertilizers fer ter depends on the variety and the interest the owner has In the trees There are a lot of ot fine old trees that can easily be made highly productive by pruning fertilizing and m 1 spraying The entire cost of ot pruning spraying and fertilizing would range from a u dollar to a dollar and a half halt at most per tree |