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CHAPTEE IX. 



ORNAMENTAL PRUNING. 



THE outline, structure, and general character of a 

 purely ornamental tree are determined almost entirely 

 by the taste of the grower, or those whom its appear- 

 ance is to gratify and please. One person likes a close 

 compact tree, and sees a special beauty in it ; another 

 admires an airy, loose, flowing character, and most 

 admires it ; a third perceives only charm and delight 

 in an irregular, sharp, and unique outline ; others, 

 again, are only pleased with the quaint, irregular, and 

 romantic form ; while yet another class admires the 

 curious, fantastic, and grotesque. The pinetum of any 

 considerable extent usually contains coniferous speci- 

 men trees of all sorts, and such as generally please the 

 various tastes of individuals. The first class is charmed 

 with such species as the pinsapo fir and the Chilian 

 arbor-vitce, to which, to their taste and liking, no tree is 

 to be compared. 



The kind of pruning these species generally require 

 is attention to the leader, and preventing any lateral 

 branches from extending beyond the prescribed limits ; 

 and those whose taste runs in this direction usually 

 prefer the pinsapo fir to be pruned and trained as a 

 cone or pyramid ; and if not subjected to an over- 



