On Prunins: and Tliinnins; Forest Trees 



48^5 



the management, sale, or conversion of oak 

 may be stated." 



The answers to the last query shew that all 

 those whose opinion is asked are men of great 

 experience, having been engaged in dealing 

 with timber for 20, 30, 40, and even 70 years. 

 To quote the whole of the replies would be 

 to occupy unnecessary space. With few ex- 

 ceptions they emphatically denounce the 

 practice of pruning as injurious to the growth 

 of the tree and the quality of the timber. It 

 will be sufficient to give a few of the answers 

 as samples of the rest : — Thomas Langton, 

 timber merchant, Lambeth, "the largest 

 merchant of oak timber in the south of Eng- 

 land," with forty years' experience, says — 

 *' Let nature carry out its own work ; never 

 trim a tree." — " The invariable effort of trim- 

 ming is to make all timber so treated unsound 

 upon conversion." 



Thomas Child, timber merchant, Sherfold, 

 Sussex, " a large merchant and converter," 

 also with forty years' experience, considers 

 that " the tree is often injured by pruning the 

 dead boughs." To query 3 he replies — " Li 

 the conversion of matured timber I have 

 generally found on the removal of the cover- 

 ing of the new sap that the part from whence 

 the horns had been cut off had become (if not 

 completely in a rotten state) so much dis- 

 coloured as to render the tree unfit for the use 

 of the Royal navy." 



Wm. Stenning, timber merchant, Godstone, 

 Surrey, "a large converter," "Considers the 

 soundness of an oak best promoted by allow- 

 ing nature to prune off the branches," and is 

 " decidedly of opinion that it is not necessary 

 to prune, and have found in converting of 

 timber that it invariably proves more defective 

 when the boughs have been cut close to the 

 trunk, and the sap-wood or bark has groAvn 

 over." 



Mr Murray Marshall, a large timber mer- 

 chant at Godalming, Surrey, says — " It is 

 quite unnecessary to cut off or remove any 

 branches." He " considers the removal of 

 large dead boughs to be very injurious to the 

 soundness of the tree, and therefore much 

 reducing it in value, as it is always found out 

 on converting or sawing the tree up to the 



purpose for which it should be applied. 

 When boughs are cut from growing timber the 

 wet will lodge upon the soft sap-wood, and 

 cause first the sap to rot rapidly, and ulti- 

 mately much injure the heart or spine wood 

 of the tree. The injuries caused by boughing, 

 timber, generally run down the trunk or to- 

 wards the roots, and incline to the centre of 

 the tree, rendering it unfit for the purpose to- 

 which it otherwise would be applied." 



William Read, senior (forty-seven years" 

 experience) — "It is unnecessary and decidedly- 

 injurious to prune an oak tree at any period 

 of its growth, either of live or dead boughs,, 

 after its removal from the nursery ground.'" 

 "It is highly inexpedient that dead boughs- 

 should be pruned from growing oak trees, as. 

 the sound growth of a tree is best promoted 

 by allowing nature to prune off such boughs, 

 as in due course become unnecessary for the 

 support of the tree." " The effect upon the 

 soundness of matured timber, if the large 

 dead boughs are cut off, so that the dead 

 stump may be covered with new sap-wood, is 

 that whenever the dead boughs are so cut off 

 close to the trunk, and in the course of time 

 the wounds healed over with new sap-wood, a 

 defect in every case is sure to take place ; and 

 the longer the trees so pruned are allowed to- 

 stand the more defective they will be whea 

 felled and converted." "It is very inexpedient 

 for the sound growth of oak timber that zxij 

 snag-pruning at all should take place; and, 

 in my opinion snag-pruning is most injurious, 

 to the sound growth of the timber." 



Henry Lawrence, carpenter, Shipley, Sussex, 

 (twenty-five years' experience) — " Oak timber 

 requires no pruning at any time of its. 

 growth." "Snag-pruning is only something 

 better than close pruning, as the injury is. 

 longer taking place." 



John Wood, Banstead, Surrey, (thirty years." 

 experience) — "Allow nature to take its course. 

 It is at all times injurious to prune timber in 

 any manner." 



Frederick Muggeridge, Dorking (twenty-five 

 years' experience) — " It is not necessary to 

 prune at any period of its growth." 



Richard Chitty, Dorking (seventy yeai-s 

 experience) — " Itis not necessary to prune at 



