PRUNING THE QUINCE. 



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 

 PRUNING. 



Fig. 51. RIGHTLY PRUNED 

 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 



