QO General Care of Trees 



summer the leaves are also a hindrance to the work, and, 

 besides, a certain amount of food in leaves and young ])arts 

 would be lost to the tree, endangering the life of a propor- 

 tionate number of rootlets, or at least unnecessarily reduc- 

 ing the reserve stores. Light trimming, however, may 

 usually be done in summer with impunity. 



For pruning into live parts it is better to wait until the 

 foliage has withered, when the food contents of the leaves 



have been withdrawn into the 

 trunk and become a\'ailable for 

 the unfolding of the next year's 

 buds. 



The cold winter makes prun- 

 ,. , , ing an uncomfortable operation, 



Fig. 20. — English shears. '^ ^ 



and the results are therefore 

 hazardous and less efficient. It is, in addition, physiologically 

 undesirable, except on mild days, as, owing to the uneven 

 expansion of bark and wood under the influence of frost, the 

 wood is apt to shrink away from the bark, and a consider- 

 able portion of the cambium may be killed, rendering the 

 heahng process more difficult. 



For the choice of early spring (March or April) it is said 

 that then the healing process of the wounds sets in at once, 

 or at least sooner than when made in the fall, and the dan- 

 ger of fungus infection is reduced. 



But as a matter of fact it is generally believed that the 

 season has not any appreciable influence on the healing of 

 the wound, provided the pruning is properly done, which 

 means also proper protection of the wound. Large wounds 

 especially are best made in fall or early winter (October, 

 November, and December in the Northern States) rather 

 than in spring. In winter the bark adheres firmly and the 

 wood is dry so that the paint or tar can be more readily 



