the point of growth at the end of the trunk, is then, 

 however, safe, so that the trunk can continue growing. 



3. PRUNING. 



Of late years, the pruning system generally applied 

 is that all branches on the lower 10 feet of the trunk 

 are taken away. The best way is to cut them off 

 with a saw. If the whole branch is sawn off in one 

 operation it will break off from its own weight before 

 the saw has gone entirely through. It is therefore necessary 

 to cut off first the heavier part of the branch, so 

 that only a small stump remains to be sawn off. 

 These small stumps should not be left but must be sawn 

 off the trunk as smoothly as possible, and the wound 

 should be trimmed with a sharp knife, in order to assist 

 in healing the wound and to avoid projections and 

 uneven parts remaining on the trunk afterwards. The 

 idea of this priming system is, to obtain straight 

 trunks of 10 feet high; it is possible that the trunk will 

 be regularly tapped up to this height in future. The 

 1 wounds should be always dressed with boiling tar, which is 

 more fluid and therefore much easier to use than cold 

 tar. Great care should be taken in older plantations 

 that with trees which have lost their branches through 

 wind, or from which sickly branches or the extremity of 

 the trunk have to be cut off, the wounds are made as 

 smooth as possible. If a trunk has to be sawn off, then 

 this must be done with an oblique cutting surface, so 

 that the rain water can flow away easily. Chopping off 

 with a few strokes from top to bottom, which the natives 

 are inclined to do because it is easiest, causes a hole in 



