^8 FORESTRY WORK 



knife, and the cuts made in a slanting direction; and 

 always made from the direction of the roots towards the 

 extremities of branch or stem, never downwards, other- 

 wise a fracture of the remaining wood will result, allowing 

 water to find its way in and causing rot. 



Hand seccateurs or pruners are very handy, especially 

 for shortening branches, but the cut can never be made 

 flush with the stem, and, unless they are kept very sharp, 

 the branches are pinched or bruised off rather than cut. 



When pruning young hardwood standards — i.e., trees 

 that have been kept in the nursery until 5 to 10 feet high 

 for use as ornamental trees or specimens — all branches 

 should be taken off from the bottom to within half their 

 height. 



If the branches are too thick for cutting with a knife, 

 a broad chisel may be used. The branch is first cut off 

 about 1 foot away from the tree to relieve it of weight, 

 and the chisel placed against the bough flush with the 

 stem and given a sharp blow with a mallet. All wide- 

 spreading side-branches should be shortened and the 

 crown made uniform and shapely. 



Lifting Transflants in Nursery. 



When the plants are to be notched in the plantations, 

 or where the cartage is too excessive for lifting them with 

 balls of earth, they must be hfted with naked roots, for 

 which work an ordinary strong digging spade is used. 



The tool is inserted in the ground about 5 inches away 

 from the plants, and pushed in at an angle sufficient to 

 get under the roots, to avoid, if possible, any damage to 



