TRANSACTIONS OF GALESBLRG HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 299 



Mr. T- W. DiETERiCH said he had noticed in cutting hickory wood 

 in the spring that the sap seemed to be through the entire length of tht 

 tree, not between the bark and new wood, but between the new wood 

 and the wood of the previous year's growth. 



Mr. Hale stated that the discussion of this subject miglit be made 

 very profitable, but if profitable at all, it must bring out something that 

 will be practicable, as the best time to trim. I argue that the best time 

 to trim is when the tree possesses the greatest reproductive power; but 

 this time may not be correctly stated. It is a question of fact. The 

 tree puts forth a growth at one season of the year, and hardens it at 

 another. Prof. Standish has investigated this matter very thoroughly, 

 but is wrong if he states that sap circulates in the heart-wood of the tree. 

 I, too, am an old sugar-maker, and can say from experience that sap 

 does not circulate up or down in the heart-wood. Sap-wood is its only 

 channel. It is important that we philosophize enough to discover when 

 the growth is active. My experience is, that late in May or early in June 

 is the best time to trim, but it may differ somewhat in different seasons. 



Mr. Carpenter stated that he could say nothing except what the tree 

 said. At the end of one year's growth it was but a little stalk, with a 

 pith in the center, and but iew limbs. This stalk never grows any more. 

 Growth consists in laying a sheath or layer around this stalk, which sheath 

 adds to the height. Each limb connects with the center, and if knots 

 are not lost, why are they not seen in our clear lumber? Apple trees have 

 two seasons of growth — in the spring and again in August. If you do not 

 trim in the spring, you can only get the benefit of the August growth. 

 The sap, circulating through the pores of wood, has the tendency to 

 straighten them. 



Mr. Hale said : I have seen thousands of logs that were cut through the 

 center, and I always found these knots which are formed by the early 

 limbs of the tree. When once they are formed, they forever remain. So 

 I say, Mr. Carpenter is wrong in his idea that knots are worn away. Our 

 clear lumber comes from the sides of the tree. 



President Standish said the process of growth is carried on by the 

 addition of cells, and when the cells are once formed they never change. 



Mr. Hale said the Society had occasion for congratulation and re- 

 joicing. A measure that originated with this Society — that of a com- 

 petent park control — has become a fact ; and we take great pleasure in 

 knowing that this measure is in process of perfection. 



