PRUNING. 233 



CHAPTER XL. 



PRUNING. 



Though the chapter on pruning is placed at the com- 

 mencement of that division of the work which treats 

 upon fruits, the fact must not be lost sight of that prun- 

 ing is often quite as necessary upon trees and shrubs cul- 

 tivated for their flowers or foliage as upon those grown 

 for their fruit. In pruning we cut away some portion 

 of a tree, shrub, or other plant, for the benefit of that 

 which remains ; and whether performed upon a branch 

 six inches through, or upon a shoot so tender as to be cut 

 by the thumb nail, the object is essentially the same. 

 The operation, though very simple, is one which the 

 amateur often fears to undertake ; and having no confi- 

 dence in his own ability, he often employs some jobbing 

 gardener, who has no fears on this or any other garden- 

 ing matter. Pruning is done for Yarious ends, and un- 

 less one has a definite reason for doing it, he had better 

 leave it undone. Many have an idea that pruning must, 

 for some reason, be done every year, just as it used to be 

 thought necessary for people to be bled every spring, 

 whether well or ill. We prune to control the shape of a 

 tree or shrub, and by directing the growth from one part 

 to another, obtain a symmetrical form, especially in fruit 

 trees, where it is desirable that the weight of fruit be 

 equally distributed. In some trees, where the fruit is 

 borne only on the wood of the previous season, the bear- 

 ing portions are each year removed further and further 

 from the body of the tree. In such cases a shortening 

 of the growth each year will cause the fo;'mation of a 

 compact head instead of the loose straggling limbs that re- 

 sult when this is omitted. We prune to renew the vigor 

 of a plant. The inexperienced cannot understand how 



