286 PRUNING. 



coarse in the grain, knotty, and of inferior quality the 

 knots being so large that, in the case of small scant- 

 lings, they are liable to break and unsafe in most parts 

 of a building, and as deals, often still more objec- 

 tionable. For many descriptions of woodwork, where 

 large scantlings, beams, lintels, pillars, and posts are 

 required, it matters little how coarse and knotty the 

 wood is, and in point of durability of knots the more 

 the better ; but it nevertheless remains true that, for 

 a lot of fine-grained wood, clean of knots, straight 

 and tall, very much higher prices are realised than for 

 coarse descriptions. From these and various other 

 considerations the conclusion arrived at is, that it is 

 injudicious to grow wood (pine and fir) at a rate ex- 

 ceeding one-eighth of an inch of zone annually, and 

 that, in order to maintain this condition of growth, 

 the branches must be so regulated as to ensure it by 

 thinning or pruning, gently or severely, frequently or 

 seldom, as the case requires. 



It was further observable, in dissecting the trees, that 

 those considered nearest perfection in symmetry, balance, 

 &c., were those that girthed at a little above the swell 

 of the root as many inches as the whole tree measured 

 feet in height. 



In the experiments made, it was still further observ- 

 able that the necessary amount of branches required 

 for the proper and full development of each individual 

 tree was about equal to the weight of the stem. The 

 figures in the table do not show this conclusively ; but 

 those trees that really pleased the eye and satisfied 

 the mind, as being the best and most proportionably 

 grown, bore the above proportion very closely. In 

 order to maintain weight for weight between stein and 

 branches the latter require to be preserved ; nor should 



