228 SOME SPECIFIC ADVICE 



II. Of plants which are being transplanted. 



We have already found (Section 2, Chap. IV.) 

 that root -pruning checks growth: it cuts off a 

 part of the food supply. Checking growth in- 

 duces fruitfulness (Section 11, Chap. IV.). The 

 same principles of physiology govern the practice 

 of root -pruning as that of top -pruning. The 

 wounds heal by the formation of a callus, germs 

 of decay enter exposed wounds, new or adventi- 

 tious roots start as the result of heavy pruning, 

 the severed leader (or tap-root) tends to renew 

 itself (see Fig. 115), and the general remarks 

 respecting seasons for pruning apply to roots with 

 nearly the same force as to tops. Since roots 

 have no buds, the new branches do not arise in as 

 definite order as they do on tops, but this is a mat- 

 ter of no consequence, for the shape of the root 

 system is of no practical importance. The direc- 

 tion of the roots is important, however, whether 

 they run horizontally and near the surface, or 

 perpendicularly. The direction of the roots, how- 

 ever, is not determined primarily by methods of 

 pruning, but by the nature of the plant, by the 

 soil, and the position of moisture and food. 



The root -pruning of established plants is prac- 

 ticable only on a small scale. It is practiced in 

 amateur plantations, or in those cases in which 

 it is desired to keep plants within definite bounds 

 or shapes. It is essentially a garden idea. It is 

 practiced in European enclosures, in the growing 



