114 THE APPLE VULTURIST. 



stem, and thus induce the sap to flow more abundantly in 

 the lateral branches. Young grafts, or inoculates, often 

 shoot up two or three feet, if allowed to grow long, slen- 

 der, and fragile ; and such are liable to be destroyed by the 

 first strong wind, unless they are supported by a stake. If 

 it is our aim to make a tall tree by promoting the growth 

 upward, we have only to cut off the lateral branches all 

 round this leader, and thus induce as much of the sap to 

 feed the leading sprout as is possible. But there is great 

 danger of cutting off too many of the lateral branches. It 

 would by no means be attended with the best results in 

 promoting the growth of a tree upward, to trim it to a 

 bare stem, leaving but a small bush near the top. If all 

 the lateral branches are cut off close to the leading stem, 

 and only a very small top left, if there be a strong healthy 

 root, that very small top can not use up all the sap, and a 

 reaction will follow; and sometimes such a reaction is at- 

 tended with deleterious consequences to the tree. On this 

 point thousands of young farmers, in their eagerness to 

 promote the upward growth of their young fruit-trees, by 

 trimming small trees to a single stem, with nothing but a 

 few buds or bunches of leaves near the top, have found 

 that their trees grew slowly when every thing aside from 

 this excessive pruning favored a rampant growth. The 

 truth is, if a tree has a healthy, strong root, the leading 

 stem will grow upward much faster by clipping off the 

 ends of the lateral branches unless it has a very heavy 

 top than it would if we cut off most of them close to the 

 stem. The leaves of a tree are its lungs ; and there must 

 be leaves on a tree in proportion to the sap that is sent up- 

 ward by the roots. When there are not leaves enough to 

 elaborate the sap, stagnation of the sap ensues in some 

 trees and shrubs ; while in others, numerous buds from the 

 body of the tree will start, and long slender sprouts will, if 



