OP FRUIT TREES. 67 



from old arms, near the trunk, and incline to grow 

 up into the head, must be annually extirpated, lest 

 they fill the tree with too much wood. A suffi- 

 cient portion of fertile wood should be left in every 

 part, but leave no useless branches, to exhaust the 

 nutritive powers, and thereby accelerate the decay 

 of the tree. Mr. Marshall, in his Rural Economy, 

 observes, that " a redundancy of wood is the cause 

 of numerous evils. The roots, or rather the pas- 

 turage which supports them, is exhausted unpro- 

 fitably ; the bearing wood robbed of part of its 

 sustenance, and the natural life of the tree unneces- 

 sarily shortened; while the superfluous wood, 

 which is the cause of this mischief, places the tree 

 in perpetual danger, by giving the winds additional 

 power over it, and is injurious to the bearing wood, 

 by retaining the damps, and preventing a due cir- 

 culation of air. The underhanging boughs weigh 

 down, especially when loaded with leaves, the fruit 

 bearing branches they are preying upon, giving 

 them a drooping habit, or at least preventing their 

 taking, as they ought and otherwise would, an as- 

 cending direction ; while those which grow within 

 the head are equally injurious in crossing and chaf- 

 ing the profitable branches. The outer surface 

 only is able to mature fruit properly. Every in- 

 ward and every underling branch ought therefore 

 to be removed. It is no uncommon sight to see 

 two or three tiers of boughs pressing down hard, 

 one upon another, with their twigs so intimately 

 interwoven, that, even when their leaves are off, 

 a small bird can scarcely creep in among them. 

 Trees thus neglected acquire, through a want of 

 ventilation and exercise, a runty, stinted habit, and 

 the fruit they bear becomes of a rude, inferiour 

 quality. By some, we are advised never to suffer 

 apple trees to begin to head short of six or eight 

 feet, for the convenience of passing under them in 

 ploughing, and to admit the warming and fertilizing 



