SUMMER PRUNING
GOOD PRACTICE
Young Trees, Bearing Trees
and Those That Fail
to Fruit Helped
What, When, How and Why the Prac
tice, Explained by Professor Lew
is, of O. A. C.
Oregon Agricultural College, Cor
vallis, June 21.—Summer pruning
done in the proper way at the right
time, will aid in bringing young trees
up to the critical bearing stage in bet
ter condition and tend to modify the
bearing habits of the more mature
trees to make them more satisfactory,
according to Professor C. I. Lewis,
horticulturist of the College, who ex
plains the why and the how of sum
mer pruning as follows:
“Let us consider first the summer
pruning for our young trees during
the formative period, that being the
ages from one to four. In many
cases not much pruning will be done
during the first summer of the tree’s
life, as the trees often do not make
very much growth the first season,
but where they do make a vigorous
growth and make it by the middle of
June or early July it will often be
found to advantage to head the trees
at that time, cutting them back just
about the same way that you would
cut them back the following spring.
That is, if you have a long terminal
growth, 12 to 30 inches in length, cut
it back to the point where you desire
to force out new laterals for the future
body building of the tree. Now, you
may have a tree that is running to
one or two branches at the expense
of all the others. It would be well to
pinch back these strong branches, so
as to hold them back for the time be
ing and thus encourage the weaker
branches to grow.
“While most growers prune the weak
branch to even up the growth careful
investigations and record at the Col
lege orchards show that the proper
proceedure is to prune the strong
branch, which diverts much of its
nourishment into the weak branch.
“By the second year nearly all these
trees can be greatly benefited by sum
mer pruning. This may come any time
from the latter part of May up to the
middle of July, generally about the
middle of June. It consists of cut
ting hack the rank terminal growth so
as to force out the laterals and allow
them to make a good growth and be
come hardened before fall. In this
way you will gain a whole year in the
framework of your trees. A good
practice to follow with such trees is
to do most of the heading back in
June and most of the thinning out in
March or April, or whenever the win
ter pruning is done.
“Should the trees after they are
pruned in June make such a rank
growth that they need some topping
back again the following spring, you
should by all means do so. In nearly
all cases it will be advisable to do
some topping back of the terminals,
or else the terminal bud will incline
to continue this growth producing a
long leggy branch. If no topping is
done on these shoots in spring it
will be necessary to give them a heavy
heading back in summer, to prevent
their becoming too long before pro
ducing desirable laterals. You should
remove from these young trees, dur
ing the summer time, any undesirable
growth, branches which you know will
never be of any value to the trees and
are growing at the expense of some
branch which should be developed.
We would caution, however, against
the too strenuous thinning out of
young trees. We are of the opinion
that we have overdone the thinning
out of the lateral branches.
“This pruning which is given to
these young trees, while it does not
as a rule directly induce fruitfulness
tends to bring the trees up to the
critical period in much better condi
tion than otherwise. Since it tends
to balance the tree and distribute the
pruning as it does over two periods
of the year, it eliminates the neces
sity for very vigorous pruning which
so many growers give trees. The
heavy winter pruning given young
trees serves as a stimulus and often
causes too much vegetable growth.”
The application of summer pruning
to trees from four to eight years of
age will be discussed in a subsequent
issue of the Bulletin, since the prun
ing is not required until later in the
year. The following applies to trees
from eight to ten, that have never
borne but should be fruiting:
“We shall now consider the trees
that are from eight to ten or twelve
years of age, which should be fruiting
but have never borne. These trees
have almost always been over-stimu
lated. They have been over pruned,
over tilled, over irrigated; they have
had one or a combination of stimuli
given them which results in forcing
rank wood growth, producing heavy
leaves, but little or no fruit. The
remedy is to remove the stimulus,
* •
'
whatever it may be, and prune several
times a year.
“Summer pruning for such trees
will come probably more about the
time one should prune'the very young
trees; that is, along in June. At each
time when the terminal growth has
reached such a length that you can
see it is going to become excessive,
it should be cut back and the trees
thinned out somewhat and the follow
ing spring a little more thinning and
pruning out may be done to advan
tage. The application of summer prun
ing to these trees should be largely
merely a distribution of the pruning
over two periods, thus avoiding an ex
cessive pruning. In very rare cases
could you expect direct results from
such pruning. It will come indirect
ly in bringing the trees back to their
normal balance. It often becomes
necesary to reduce the amount of till
age or irrigation given such trees and
in cases where they are abnormally
excessive it is sometimes found advis
able even to check their growth by
growing crops between the trees, as
some hay or grain crop. ”
v
A n o th e r l la n d y D ev ice, w h ic h H o ld s P iKs A w a y W h ite T r o u g h is Hilled.
PUTTING YOUNG
CHICKS IN HOUSE
Crowding to Be Avoided to Prevent
Stunting
100 Small Birds May be Housed in
Boom 6 by 8 Feet.
Oregon Agricultural College, Cor
vallis, June 21.—“The number of
chickens to be put in one house will
depend to some extent upon the size
of the birds,” says C. C. Lamb, Ex
tension poultry husbandman of the
Oregon Agricultural College. “Only
enough should be put in to occupy
♦he roosting space provided. If in a
house 6 x 8 feet three roosts running
lengthwise are provided and spaced
about ten inches apart sufficient roost
ing space will be given for 100 chicks
when six to eight weeks old. This
amount of room will not accommodate
them for long. But if the cockerels
are sorted out as they approach the
broiler size, additional room will be
given the remaining growing pullets.
There should be sufficient room for
50 pullets until the time arrives to
put them in the laying houses.
“It is very harmful to crowd too
many chickens into a house and sickly
stunted birds are bound to result if
this is done. Fowls require more
oxygen in proportion to their size
than any other domestic animal. They
require more than twice as much as
do humans or cattle. From this it is
easily seen that it is very necessary
to get the chickens spread out on
roosts as soon as they are well
feathered and any considerable num
ber are put together in one house.
Chickens are prone to huddle together
in a corner, which results in the weak
er ones being trampled or smothered
and prevents each chick getting a
good supply of fresh air. When chicks
roost through the night in this way,
they become too warm and when they
get out in the cool air there is much
danger of taking colds.
"To induce the young chicks to
roost it is a goad plan to begin with
the roosts about 14 inches from the
floor and gradually raise them to
about 2 '/2 feet as the birds become
accustomed to going on them. To
break young chickens into using the
roosti it is often necessary to force
them to go on the roosts by arranging
wire netting close up underneath the
roosts and fastening it to the floor
so that the chicks can not get down
between or under the roosts and
huddle on the floor.
“The roosts for young fowls should
present a rather broad surface on top.
A small roost is liable to cause crook
ed breast bones from the soft plastic
bone resting on a small surface. A
desirable roost for young stock can
be made from a 1 in. x 3 in. board
smooth on all four sides and with the
two upper corners slightly beveled.”
OREGON ROAD OFFICERS
MAY GET HELP OF EXPERT
Oregon Agricultural College, Cor
vallis, .May 31.—Road supervisors and
other officers interested in building
and maintaining public highways of
Oregon may now secure the services
of a specialist in road construction
and maintenance in solving their pro
blems of best types of roads for their
district and the best methods of con
struction. The Agricultural College
Extension department has arranged
to have Professor G. V. Skelton, high
way engineer, consult with those who
wish to secure advice and assistance
in solving their problems in the best
interests of their constituency.
Professor Skelton's work is strictly
advisory and is limited to questions of
grades, types of road for given dis
trict, best means of construction, and
similar matters, and is without charge
to the people of Oregon. Those wish
ing to take advantage of this service
should write the Extension division,
R. D. Hetzel. director, so that arrange
ments may be made to have Professor
Skelton’s visit made when he is sched
uled for work in their part of the
state. In case assistance is desired
before September 1 the requests
should come in at the earliest possible
date.
SELF-FEEDERS FOR
SWINE PROFITABLE
Animals Eat More Feed and
Fat on More Flesh for
What They Eat
Gain in Weight for Each 100 Pounds
of Feed Averaged 0.7% Better
Than When Hand-Fed.
The self-feeder is a combination of
a trough and hopper, the latter placed
above the former anil communicating
with it by a throat. The latter opens
into the, trough well below the upper
edge of the trough and far enough
from the edge to perimt ptgs to eat.
As the supply at the opening of the
throat is exhausted, more feed runs
down from the hopper. Thus the pigs
have a supply constantly before them
so long as there is feed in the hopper,
but are unable to waste or soil the
feed.
The throat opening into the trough
should be adjusted that the particular
feed used will run out but not too
freely. Coarse ground barley will
feed more rapidly than finely ground
barley so that it is well to have the
sides of tho,.hopper set into grooves
at the ends and held at the correct
place by pegs or by a wing-nut. The
iowa Experiment Station uses the lat
ter method with satisfaction, though
the Oregon Station has secured good
results with the one of which the de
sign is herewith given.
Fattening hogs on pasture, which is
one of the most economical ways of
finishing them, is much more easily
done by the use of the self-feeder.
The latter may be taken to the field
and little attention given it except re
filling at intervals, depending on the
size and number of pigs having ac
cess to it.
Self-feeders can be so built as to
feed from one or both sides, and to
hold any amount desired. If made too
large, they are hard to move, if they
are to be moved; and they also take
up an undue amount of room. The
minimum trough allowance per pig
has never been arrived at, but six
inches per pig has been found ample,
only a small part of the herd eating
at one time.
In six trials, the Agricultural Col
lege and Eastern Oregon Experiment
Stations, testing the self-feeder
against hand feeding the same ration
twice daily, and employing all the
leading feeds of Oregon, found the
average daily feed per head consumed
from the self-feeder was 6.783 pounds;
from hand feeding 6.244. The aver
age daily gain per head with the self-
feeder was 1.676 pounds, and with
hand feeding 1.401 pounds. The feed
per 100 pounds gain required by the
self-feeder lots was 404.768 pounds
and with the hand fed lots 433.586
pounds. A saving of 0.7% of feed
was effected by the use of the self-
feeder. The labor factor is also ma
terially decreased. The self-feeder
may unquestionably be used with prof
it to a much greater extent in this
state.
The following is a bill of lumber
for the type of feeders used at the
College Station. These feeders are
3 feet wide, 3 feet high, and 6 feet
long. They feed from both sides and
accommodate ten hogs nicely.
1 x 32 x 6 in. x 2 equal 32 board
feet, top and bottom.
1 in. x 32 in. x 36 in. x 2 equal 16
board feet, for the ends.
1 x 36 in. x 6 ft. x 2 equal 36 board
feet for the sides.
2 x 4 x 6 ft. x 3 equal 8 board feet
for the sides of the trough.
1 x 12 in. x 6 ft. x 2 equal 12 board
feet for the sides in the middle of the
feeder.
2 in. x 4 in. x 3 ft. x 4 equal 8
board feet for outside braces.
1 in. x 3 in. x 1 in. x 10 equal 2<£
board feet for slats.
1 in. x 2 in. x 36 in. x 8 equal 4
board feet for the braces at the end.
120 board feet @ $11 per thousand
equal $1.30, exclusive of the labor.