HOW TO PRUNE. 221 



to impart to it another. If the tree is healthy and 

 of vigorous growth, it is easily accomplished by 

 simply lopping off the top immediately below where 

 it spreads, and allow a new top to form from a young 

 shoot. Where the tree, however, is of slow and stinted 

 growth, and not sufficiently vigorous to produce a new 

 top as directed, the best thing to do is to train one 

 of the strongest and most promising branches as a 

 substitute, which is done by slightly notching the 

 branch to induce it to bend, and by means of two 

 small rods tied to it, to give it an upright direction 

 till it attains strength to keep so. When this ex- 

 pedient is resorted to, the ligatures must be loosened 

 every year to prevent galling of the bark, which 

 would otherwise prove fatal to the tree. 



Contending shoots sometimes start at the surface 

 of the ground, and sometimes at points higher up on 

 the stem. Whenever such occur, the contending 

 shoots must be all cut away except the most choice 

 and select one, and preference given to that which 

 springs from nearest the ground. 



This is one of the most common and urgent cases 

 for pruning, and one which confers immense benefits 

 on the subjects operated upon. The neglect of this 

 form of pruning is often the loss of what would other- 

 wise have been a valuable tree ; and it is no rare or 

 uncommon thing to see a tree in the forest worth 

 only a few shillings, which, if it had been pruned 

 as here directed, would have been worth as many 

 pounds. 



Trees are liable at all stages of growth to form 

 what are popularly termed double tops ; and when 

 this occurs within reach of the hand, one of the con- 

 tending shoots can be readily cut off, either by means 



