96 TRDIMINQ METHOD OF COUNT DES CARS. 



well for the facility with which they grow from seeding upon the spot as on account 

 of their action upon the soil in preparing it to receive other kinds, and especially the 

 oak. Of the two forms of trimming (cutting close to the trunk, and shortening the 

 branches), the second is not generally needed in the firs, because their growth is 

 naturally upright and pyramidal. It is, therefore, in most cases only necessary to 

 remove the dead or dying branches. But it is not so with the pines, which will, when 

 not closely planted, often form enormous branches, to the injury of height and beauty 

 in the trunk and to a great loss in their value. With them, the shortening of such 

 brauches is absolutely necessary, as we have described in the case of deciduous kinds. 

 This should be done by taking otFa third or a half of their length, but always beyond 

 the secondary branches. This requirement is more rigorous than in deciduous trees, 

 because such a stub, deprived of its branches for support, would unavoidably perish. 

 By this means we may recall the tree to that form which it should take in normal 

 conditions, and the m.ain trunk will elongate and grow large in regular form and to 

 greater profit. Every one knows the importance of resinous timber in civil and naval 

 architecture, and especially its use for masts. In proportion as the tree grows old, its 

 lower branches die and dry up, but the resin with which they are filled prevents them 

 from rotting. The dead part, however, remains enveloped in the newer wood in the 

 form of knots, which interrupt the longitudinal fibers and injure alike the growth of 

 the tiee and its use for the carpenter, forming holes in the boards or plank when they 

 are wrought for use. These faults are easily avoided by cutting all dead or dying 

 branches close to the trunk ; and a coat of coal-tar is of use in preventing, or at least 

 considerably reducing, the flow of resin. 



The mode of trimming which leaves pegs in the place of branches is objectionable 

 in deciduous trees, and still more so with the conifers, for they must always in a few 

 years be in turn cut off. Some persons have adopted this method to avoid the loss of 

 sap, but, in every case, if left, they ought to be cut off smooth the next year. This 

 greatly increases the labor, and it cannot therefore be practiced on an extensive scile. 

 If the stubs are left they will form burrows in the new wood, or, if left some years, they 

 will occasion defects in the growth two or three times more in diameter than if cut off 

 smooth at first. 



The practice of trimming the pine is very common in France, but it is generally 

 overdone, the head left being insufficient for growth in size. If the branches are well 

 formed, the trimming ought not to be carried to over a half, or, at most, two-thirds of 

 the height, while young trees should be allowed to retain relatively more branches 

 than those that are older. 



The metbod of trimming advocated by M. des Cars has been to some 

 extent tried at the French experimental station atBarres and elsewhere. 

 When properly and intelligently performed it yields unquestionably 

 good results, but it requires good judgment, and is in fact a kind of 

 skilled labor, which costs more than common hand-work, and the ques- 

 tion of expense may prevent its general introduction in the manage- 

 ment of large forests, even in European countries, where wood is dear 

 and labor cheap. 



"While speaking of the process of pruning or trimming forest trees, 

 it may be proper to remark, that zealous advocates of particular meth- 

 ods have heretofore dene great injury by advising the operation as a 

 general rule, without paying sufficient regard to the particular condi- 

 tions of each case. Some forty years since, Mr. Gavin Cree introduced 

 in Scotland a method of pruning, founded upon an erroneous theory of 

 the functions of the leaves and of the sap, which led to the shortening 

 of all the branches, from the bottom of the tree to the top. It is hardly 

 necessary to add that time has proved not only the fallacy of this doc- 

 trine, but has also shown the irreparable injury that followed its appli- 

 cation. At a still earlier period, a method of pruning was introduced 

 in England by Mr. Wm. Pontey,' nurseryman to the Duke of Bedford, 

 which cannot now but be regarded as having done a great deal more 

 of harm than of good, because practiced without discretion and an 

 undue extent. 



These results have led some writers to take the other extreme by 



iThis system is set forth in a work entitled "The Forest Fruncr, or Timber Owner's 

 Assistant, &c., Loudon, 1805. 



