PLANTING AND MAINTENANCE 121 



Cut away all damaged roots in the first place, 

 and trim all stumps smooth and clean of slivers 

 and loose fibers, that there may be no place for 

 fungus to lodge or decay to enter. Then cut 

 away a little bit more, proportionately, at the 

 top, taking care to preserve the character of 

 the plant always, whether much or little is 

 taken off. Branches cannot be snipped off here 

 and there regardless of everything except get- 

 ting rid of them, but selective pruning must re- 

 duce the plant everywhere equally. Usually it 

 is possible simply to cut all branches back the 

 requisite amount, but in the case of trees which 

 progress distinctly by means of a leader — as 

 the Lombardy poplar and the maidenhair tree 

 or Gingko — the leader should not be cut. If it 

 is, the tree's character is destroyed, even though 

 it makes the noblest efforts to overcome the 

 injury — for the ideal long, straight bole, unin- 

 terrupted from earth to tip, is impossible to 

 restore once it has been tampered with. 



Occasionally an entire branch will need to 

 be removed, although nursery grown trees that 

 have been well cared for will seldom show such 

 superfluous growth. Where two branches rise 

 from the trunk at the same point, one must al- 

 ways come out — and sometimes this result of 

 gross negligence is found, even in nursery stock, 



