116 PARKS AND PLEASURE-GROUNDS. 



foresliortened should be cut off at the lower part of the 

 stem^ leaving it bare at first not above one-sixth^ or at 

 most one-fifth^ the height of the tree. By the time, 

 however, that the tree is from fifteen to twenty feet high, 

 it may have a clear stem of one-third its height, and 

 varying from one-third to one-half when the tree has 

 attained a stature of thirty feet. These remarks are not 

 meant to apply in all cases in the park and pleasure- 

 grounds, where the natural appearance of many trees 

 would be spoiled by the removal of branches from their 

 trunks for more than ten or fifteen feet. Some trees, 

 however, are improved by the partial thinning and 

 shortening of the branches to double that height. When 

 pruning should begin, and how often it should be re- 

 sorted to, must be left to the discretion of the proprietor 

 judging from the growth of the trees. Some plantations 

 will be benefited by a careful examination and pruning 

 every second year; others will require attention only every 

 fourth or fifth year. Some excellent foresters condemn 

 the periodical pruning of woods. Our own experience 

 is, that it is advantageous to examine the trees in the 

 park every second or third year, of course pruning only 

 those trees that require it, and cutting back the branches 

 of the nurses which are pressing on the principals. We 

 agree with Mr. Brown, in his useful work ' The Forester,' 

 that pruning should precede thinning by at least one 

 year. Wlien both operations go on together, the growth 

 of the young trees is apt to be checked by their sudden 

 exposure to the colder atmosphere consequent on the de- 

 crease of shelter. Fir-trees should be planted so thickly 

 as to prune themselves, the dead branches being care- 

 fully removed as they appear. On the lawns of the 

 pleasure-ground some firs are disposed to extend their 



