PRUNING THE QUINCE. 73 
I have thus far treated of pruning as it should be done 
with the knife or shears, before the limbs are large 
enough to need a saw. But when trees have been 
neglected till large limbs are to be cut off, it is im- 
portant that they should be so cut as to give a good 
prospect of healing over; else they may be the occasion 
of decay going into the very heart of the tree. If the 
cut is made several inches from the body, there is no 
possibility of healing over, and decay is inevitable. On 
the other hand, if the limb is cut so as not to leave a 
projecting stump, it may grow over entirely in a few 
Fig. 50.—DECAY FROM BAD Fig. 51.—RIGHTLY PRUNED 
PRUNING. BRANCHES HEALED OVER. 
years, especially if well waxed or painted. As a rule, if 
the limb cut off is an inch or more in diameter, it is well 
to cover the wound. Gum shellac dissolved in alcohol 
to the thickness of paint is as good as any thing to apply. 
It is very adhesive, soon hardens, keeps out the air and 
water, and is not affected by weather changes. It is too 
thin to hinder the lip of the growing bark from closing 
over the wound. Grafting wax, or a composition of 
equal parts of resin and tallow, melted and applied with 
a brush or swab, has been successfully used. A medi- 
cated tar, made by dissolving half an ounce of corrosive 
sublimate in half a gill of spirit, and then heating and 
