210 NEBRASKA STATE: HOKTICULTURAL SOCItrrV. 



beautiful structures which nature has been years in producing. 

 These men seem to work without the slightest knowledge of the 

 significance of pruning. They will prune at any time of the 

 year; leave jagged stubs; peel the bark; cut all kinds of limbs 

 and leave wounds unprotected. The worst example I have 

 noticed of this pruning was upon a row consisting of twelve 

 beautiful boxelder trees. The tops of the trees were entirely 

 removed by taking off all the main branches late in the autumn. 

 The branches were cut from four to six feet from the trunks. 

 This not only completely ruined the beauty and symmetry, but 

 it also left large exposed surfaces which allowed serious loss of 

 water when the trees were least able to withstand it. These 

 large rough wounds were also fruitful sources of infection for 

 the wood-rotting fungi. The result was that at the end of two 

 years nearly all the trees were dead, while similar unpruned 

 trees in the same locality were healthy and vigorous. If the 

 ordinary shade and forest trees are left to develop naturally I 

 think there will be little or no need of pruning. In most such 

 cases nature will prune sufficiently. 



Fruit trees are pruned almost entirely for economic reasons. 

 A fruit tree, if left to develop naturally, will produce so many 

 branches that when it begins bearing, the food-manufacturing 

 organs of the tree will not be able to supply a sufficient quantity 

 of food to produce a superior quality of fruit. 



The question often arises, what is the least injurious form of 

 a cut to make. If we examine a number of healing wounds it 

 will be found that the younger the shoots the least injurious 

 were the wounds. The danger in making wounds lies in what 

 may follow. The setting in of decay is the most to be feared. 

 Therefore the wounds should be made in a form which will 

 heal most rapidly. 



The position of the wounds with reference to the main branch 

 is also of importance. The cut should, in most cases, be made 

 parallel to the primary axis of the main branch and the cut sur- 

 face should be as nearly as possible in the same plane as the 

 surface of the branch. It sometimes happens that a wound 

 made in this way would be left with the cut surface in a horizon- 

 tal position facing upward. This would be a very dangerous 



