TENDING THE PLANTATIONS 141 



as doing so leaves wounds in which spores of fungi find 

 lodgment. 



Judicious pruning not only helps to produce clean 

 timber, but encourages height growth and the formation 

 of more cjdindrical stems. 



The greatest increase in girth always takes place below 

 the lowest branches, so by removing the lower branches 

 of a tree, either by close growing or by pruning, the 

 higher portion of the tree increases relatively more in 

 girth, producing a stem nearer to the shape of a true 

 cylinder and more valuable, as there will be less waste 

 in conversion than if it is very tapering in form. 



Pruning should be done before the trees get too tall or 

 the branches too thick, for when a heavy branch is cut 

 off it takes a long time for the wound to heal over, and 

 decay may set in, making a hole in the stem. 



For the same reason, all branches should be cut off 

 close to the stem and in line with it, because if a stump 

 is left sticking out, even if it does not decay, it remains 

 as a knot in the timber. 



The young wood with which the wounds should be 

 covered is put on with the downward flow of the sap, 

 and it cannot get out to the end of a snag. Therefore 

 the closer the cut is made to the stem, the sooner will 

 it be healed, and the straighter wiU be the grain of the 

 wood put on afterwards. 



To prevent decay, and also to prevent lodgment of 

 the spores of fungi, which are the principal causes of 

 decay, all cuts should be covered with coal-tar or some 

 other antiseptic. It is of no use putting this on after 



