5O PRUNING’: ITS ORNAMENT AND UTILITY. 
It has always been a principle of mankind to work first, how- 
ever rude and imperfect, and then discover the principles upon 
which the work is based ; and so it is in pruning trees. Many 
foresters may be able to prune trees, both for the purposes of use 
and ornament, and yet be unable to define any principles upon 
which the art of pruning is based. Presuming, therefore, that 
while the majority of foresters are practically able to prune trees, 
I may be allowed to lay down what I consider a few guiding 
principles. In other words: how are we to prune trees in 
harmony with their habits so as to increase their beauty and 
value ? 
To many persons the idea of a tree is nothing else than a large 
plant, with an ascending axis or stem from which spring an 
indefinite number of branches ramifying in all directions; the 
former being suitable for timber, the latter fit only for fuel. To 
persons of no higher ideas or tastes the pruning of a tree ought 
not to be intrusted. 
The direct object of pruning is either for use or ornament, or 
it may be to prevent trees from being blown down by the wind. 
If pruning for ornament is the object in view, it may be 
sometimes allowable to sacrifice intrinsic value to a certain ex- 
tent, especially within policies or along roadsides. On the other 
hand, when pruning for utility is the object, ornament should not 
be altogether sacrificed, and need not 
be except within plantations. In 
order to carry out ornamental pruning 
properly, remember that it is neces- 
sary to study the natural habit of 
trees. 
Many debates have arisen as_ to 
whether pruning increases the size of 
a tree or not. One thing, however, 
is certain, that early and judicious 
pruning increases the commercial 
value of timber trees. Fig. 1 will 
illustrate this. Had pruning been 
resorted to when the tree was in a 
young state, we should have had the 
trunk A prolonged instead of forking 
at x. Now, suppose the trunk A is 
10 feet long, and that we cross-cut B and c at 10 feet in length 
Fig. 1. 
