1905 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



169 



lateral roots only can be cut, while 

 the essential root to be pruned is the 

 long toproot which is formed by most 

 all the coniferous species. 



In the San Gabriel nurseries, near 

 Pasadena, California, a tool has been 

 devised for pruning, which consists 

 of a combined perpendicular and hori- 

 zontal blade, to which a handle is at- 

 tached, and this is pulled through the 

 soil by one hand. This tool works 

 very satisfactorily in a small nursery 

 like the one near Pasadena, but it is 



A. Scott, I succeeded in making a root 

 pruner, which has proved highly sat- 

 isfactory. This is shown in figures 

 I, 2 and 3. 



The important feature of this tool 

 is the cutting blade. This is one inch 

 wide and one-eighth of an inch thick, 

 and made from a first class piece of 

 steel. It is U shaped, and the per- 

 pendicular sides are seven inches long, 

 and the horizontal base is six inches 

 long. This blade is riveted to sub- 

 stantial collars, which are made to 



Fig 2. Root pruner in use, operated by two men. 



entirely inadequate in a nursery like 

 the one at Halsey, where millions of 

 seedlings are to be pruned annually. 

 The great necessity for some practi- 

 cal device for rootpruning was made 

 apparent to me while inspecting the 

 nursery and planting at Halsey in 

 April, and I set to work to devise a 

 tool for this purpose. With the as- 

 sistance of Mr. F. W. Beslev. who had 

 temporary charge of the Halsey Sta- 

 tion during the absence of Mr. C. 



fit on a Planet, Jr., garden hoe frame. 

 This is a single wheel frame, and in 

 order to have the wheel run between 

 the rows of trees it was necessary to 

 change it to the outer side. I am sat- 

 isfied that this device attached to a 

 double wheeled frame would make 

 a more substantial tool. The cutting 

 blade is filed to a keen edge, and kept 

 so during the pruning operation. By 

 having such a thin blade, and keeping 

 it sharp, there is practically no resis- 



