Book II. PRUNING TREES. 583 



removed annually, and before they obtained a large size, the places from which they 

 issued would be imperceptible, or at least not hurtful to the timber, when it came to the 

 hand of the artist." 



3697. The pruning of all deciduous trees should be begun at the top, or at least those 

 branches which are to be removed from thence should never.be lost sight of. *' Having 

 fixed upon what may be deemed the best shoot for a leader, or that by which the stem is 

 most evidently to be elongated and enlarged, every other branch on the plant should be 

 rendered subservient to it, either by removing them instantly, or by shortening them. 

 Where a plant has branched into two or more rival stems, and there are no other very 

 strong branches upon it, nothing more is required than simply to lop off the weakest 

 clean by the bole, leaving only the strongest and most promising shoot. If three or 

 four shoots or branches be contending for the ascendancy, they should, in like manner, 

 be lopped off, leaving only the most promising. If any of the branches which have 

 been left farther down on the bole of the plant at former prunings have become very 

 strong, or have extended their extremities far,, they should either be taken clean off, by the 

 bole, or be shortened at a proper distance from it; observing always to shorten at a 

 lateral twig of considerable length. It is of iiyportance that the tree be equally poised ; 

 and, therefore, if it have stronger branches on the one side than the other, they should 

 either be removed or be shortened. Thus, a properly trained tree, under twenty feet 

 in height, should appear light and spiral, from within a yard or two of the ground to 

 the upper extremity ; its stem being furnished with a moderate number of twigs and 

 small branches, in order to detain the sap, and circulate it more equally through the 

 plant. 



3698. The subsequent pi-unings of trees of this size, standing in a close plantation, will 

 require much less attention ; all that is wanted will consist in keeping their leading 

 shoots single. From the want of air, their lateral branches will not be allowed to ex- 

 tend, but will remain as twigs upon the stem. These, however, frequently become 

 dead branches ; and if such were allowed to remain at all on the trees, they would infal- 

 libly produce blemishes calculated greatly to diminish the value of the timber : hence 

 the impropriety of allowing any branch to die on the bole of a tree ; indeed, all branches 

 should be removed when they are alive ; such a method, to our knowledge, being the 

 only sure one to make good timber. From these circumstances, an annual pruning, or 

 at least an annual examination of all forests, is necessary. (Plant. Kal.) 



3699. Heading down such non -resinous trees as stole, we have already stated to be 

 an important operation. After the trees have been three or four years planted. Sang 

 directs, that " such as have not begun to grow freely should be headed down to within 

 three or four inches of the ground. The cut must be made with the pruning-knife in a 

 sloping direction, with one effort. Great care should be taken not to bend over the tree 

 in the act of cutting. By so bending, the root may be split, a thing which too often 

 happens. The operation should be performed in March, and not at an earlier period of 

 the season, because the wounded part might receive much injury from the severe 

 weather in January and February, and the expected shoot be thereby prevented from 

 rising so strong and vigorous." (Flanl. Kalend. 297.) BufFon, in a Memorial on the 

 Culture of Woods, presented to the French government in 1 742, says he has repeated this 

 experiment so often, that he considers it as the most useful practice he knows in the cul- 

 ture of woods. 



3700. For the purpose of producing bends for shijy-timbery various modes of pruning 

 have been proposed, as such bends always fetch the highest price. According to Pon- 

 tey, " little is hazarded by saying, that if plenty of long, clean, straight, free-grown 

 trees could be got, steaming and a screw apparatus would fonn bends." 



3701. Monteith, a timber valuator of great experience, and in extensive practice, says, 

 the value of the oak, the broad-leaved elm, and Siianish chestnut, depends a good deal 

 on their being crooked, as they are all used in ship building. He says he has seen trees 

 successfully trained into crooked shapes of great value, in the following manner: *' If 

 you have an oak, elm, or chestnut, that has two stems, as it were, striving for the supe- 

 riority, lop or prune oS*the straightest stem ; and if a tree that is not likely to be of such 

 value be standing on that side to which the stem left seems to incline to a horizontal 

 position, take away the tree, and thus give the other every chance of growing horizon- 

 tally At this time it will be necessary to take away a few of the perpendicular shoots olT 

 the horizontal branch ; and, indeed, if these branches, which is sometimes the case in 

 such trees, seem to contend, take away most of them ; but if they do not, it is better 

 at this time not to prune over much, except the crooked shoots on the horizontal 

 branch, till they arrive at the height of fifteen, or even twenty feet. By this time 

 it will be easily seen what kind of tree it is likely to form ; and, if it inclines to grow 

 crooked, lighten a little the top of the tree, by taking off" a few of the crooked branches 

 on the straighter side, allowing all the branches to remain on the side to which the tree 

 inclines to crook, to give it more weight, and to draw most of the juice or sap that way, 



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