Pruning and Trimming 



85 



Fig. 14. — Levin's patent 

 pruning shears. 



trees with sprawling branch .systems, as in the case of the 

 Soft ]\Iaple, is to make the crown more compact and thereby 

 to increase its resistance to wind 

 breakage. 



Unless this operation is judi- 

 ciously performed there is danger 

 of spoiling the natural form and 

 making the crown formal and 

 undesirable. 



Whenever twigs or branches are dying without a visible 

 cause, it is in many, if not in most cases a sign that the 

 root and branch systems are not in equilibrium, and it is 

 proper to remove not only the dead 

 wood, but also some of the green 

 wood, in order to give the root 

 system opportunity to do its work 

 more easily. 



How se\Trely this surgery may be 

 applied depends on the condition of 

 the individual, the species, and the 

 age. Some species, even when quite 

 old, respond more readily to the 

 treatment than others, and they may 

 be cut back severely into old parts 

 and yet rehabilitate thcnxselves. 

 Others, Hke the ash, do not respond 

 so readily and lose, as does also the 

 oak in very old age, the power of re- 

 placement by dormant buds. Per- 

 which have not been haps it may be a law that all those 



pruned, liable to inlro- ,, ' , i-i j- ^1 



Su^e rot. that sprout readily from the stump, 



such as the oak (when young), chestnut, basswood, and 

 maple, also respond readily to the pruning knife. 



Fig 



Broken branches 



