STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. " 211 



by pruning. Now, take a yearling tree, or one two years old, and 

 the leaves are very- feeble. Cut that tree back to one or two eyes, 

 and you will slowly start a very fine foliage, which will draw vigor- 

 ously from the sun and air; whereas, if we had left it with the little 

 leaves all over it, it would have made very poor growth ; and it is on 

 that very same principle^ precisely, that we prune a few buds away 

 in order that the remainder may fulfill their work perfectly. That is 

 my notion as to the benefit of pruning. 



Mr. Meehan — That is one of those cases •where, of two evils, we 

 prefer the least. There are many operations going on in plant life. 

 There is evaporation where there is no growth, and in some cases 

 where there is a reasonably quick growth, the leaf growth is out of 

 proportion with the stem growth. Cutting off a portion of it, there 

 is less work to be done. That is a choice of evils, as I said before. 

 This continuous pruning, which is kept on forever, will weaken the 

 tree. So, also, in transferring trees, we prune for the same reason ; 

 the roots become disproportioned to the branches, and we cut off a 

 portion of the evaporating surface so as to give the roots less work 

 than they would otherwise have to perform. It is an evil, and a 

 continual succession of these evils would produce a diseased body. 



Dr. Hull — I do not know whether I understand your statements 

 correctly or not. Do roots have the power, in winter, of forming 

 cellular growth — adding a single cell? 



Mr. Meehan — I do not know. They have very late in the fall — 

 up to winter time. Yes, they do add cells through the winter season. 

 Plant a hyacinth root four inches in the ground, and it comes on to 

 freeze, a foot thick if you like, and it continues to do so until Feb- 

 ruary, and you will find that its leaves are level with the surface — 

 that it has made roots six inches deep — thawed its way right through 

 the ground. That is a beautiful experiment. It thaws its way by 

 its own internal heat. I did not recollect this experiment at first* 

 but I fortunately remember so much as, I think, answers the question 

 completely. 



Mr. Earle — I would like to ask Mr. Meehan what is the practical 



