.PROTECTION OF PLANTS. 400 PRUNING, PROCESS OF. 



chimney. The lamp is suspended by wires 

 bent at the ends at a right angle, the bent 

 limbs fitting into sockets in the form of 

 short tubes soldered on at each side of the 

 saucer-shaped tin. The space between the 

 boiler and the dotted line is filled up with 

 cocoanut fibre in which small pots may be 



ABC D 



i?IG. I. RIGHT AND WRONG MODES OF PRUNING 



plunged or cuttings struck. The space 

 between the upper and lower plates of the 

 boiler is from | inch to inch. Although 

 iae lamp is small the temperature in the 

 upper part of the case is very soon raised 

 to 70 to 8, as may be seen by application 

 of a thermometer 



Protection of Bedding Plants. 



See Bedding Plants, Protection of. 



Pruning, Process of. 



Tools Reqiiired. The instruments re- 

 quired in pruning are a hand saw, a pruning 

 knife, a chisel, and a mallet. For garden 

 trees the knife is the most important; it 

 should be strong and of the best steel, with 

 a considerable curve, so as to take a good 

 hold of the wood. 



Operation, how performed. The way in 

 which to perform the operation requires 

 attention. The amputation should be made 

 as near as possible to the bud, but without 

 touching it ; the cut should begin on the 

 opposite side, and on a level with its lower 

 part, made at an angle of 45, and terminate 

 just above the bud, as at A in Fig. i, which 



shows the right mode of cutting a branch 

 in pruning, and which, with the accompany- 

 ing illustrations at B, C, and D, is repro- 

 duced from Du Breuil'swork on the culture 

 of fruit-trees. When cut as at A, the ampu- 

 tation is made as close as possible to the 

 bud, but not so near as to injure it. The 

 pruning knife is placed exactly opposite the 

 bud, and cut in a slanting direction up- 

 wards, in the line ab, coming out a little 

 above the bud. By this means the buds 

 re .ains uninjured, and more readily bursts 

 into growth when the times comes. In B, 

 the branch is cut in the line ab too far from 

 the bud, and the consequence is that the 

 wood dies down to the line c, and the dead 

 stump has to be cut away the following 

 year. In C, the cut ab is too slanting, and 

 coi .menced too far down the stem on the 

 side opposite the bud, and the consequence 

 is that the bud is weakened and its growth 

 rendered less vigorous. 



FIG. 2. FIRST YEAR'S PRUNING OF STANDARD. 

 If it is necessary to cut away a branch 

 altogether, a small portion of it should be 

 left on the stem, as at a in D, and the cut 

 should be a smooth one, slightly bevelled, 

 presenting the smallest possible extent of 



