THINNING AND PRUNING 147 



scale is not only expensive, but rarely leads to any satisfactory 

 result, for it is only when a tree is comparatively young that 

 its growth can be altered or improved by pruning. No harm 

 can be done by taking off dead branches close to the trunk, 

 and in plantations under middle age, which have been allowed 

 too much room at the start, and have closed up about the 

 twentieth year, a large proportion of these will probably 

 exist. Apart from the benefit the timber derives from the 

 removal of these branches, the appearance of the wood is 

 immensely improved by it, and it is only a question of time 

 and expense whether such work should be carried out gener- 

 ally or not. Plantations grown thickly and properly from 

 the start rarely need it, and it should be regarded as an 

 exceptional remedy for past neglect, rather than an operation 

 necessary for the successful growth of all timber crops. 



