PRUNING AND LOPPING. 485 



the bole, and with the moisture will come in fungus spores, so that 

 decomposition and unsounduess will spread through the tree, and 

 will continue to do so even after the wound has been covered over 

 with new rings of wood. The pruning off of dry branches or of 

 dry jagged ends of branches will, if carefully effected, rarely do 

 any harm, and indeed will, in most instances, prevent the spread 

 of decomposition and unsoundness that must inevitably ensue if 

 the entire dead branch or its jagged, water- absorbing end, as the 

 case may be, is preserved. But it is well to remark that the same 

 amount of harm does not follow pruning in every case, and hence 

 the operation may be undertaken only with certain special species 

 and in those circumstances in which no risk is to be feared. 



How to prune. 



Dry branches should be cut off flush with the trunk, otherwise, 

 as the latter increased in diameter, an ever-increasing portion of the 

 dead branch would be included in it, which, if it did not cause 

 decay to spread, could never form any organic connection with the 

 surrounding living wood and must, therefore, determine a break of 

 continuity of tissue. Moreover, by taking off the branch close to 

 the trunk, the section is soonest overgrown with new wood. For 

 this last reason green branches also should be pruned off close to 

 the axis that bears them. It is of no use, in the case of forest 

 trees, to prune green branches above 3 inches in diameter, for a 

 wider section could never be covered over soon enough to prevent 

 decomposition and decay from setting in. 



The pruned section should have a smooth even surface, as a 

 rough or spongy one will absorb, or at least retain, water. The 

 best tools to use, according to circumstances, are pruning bills 

 (Fig. 127), pruning knives (Fig. 121), or special forms of saws 

 possessing fine teeth, which do not leave a spongy section (Figs. 

 110 and 111). The saws may be fixed at the end of a bamboo up 

 to 12 feet long. In using bills, the branch, if thin, should be cut 

 entirely from below upwards ; otherwise a deep preliminary cut 

 should be made on the upper side and the work finished off from 

 below. Pruning knives must of course be drawn from below 

 upwards. When the branch to be removed is long and thick and 

 weighted with leaves and twigs, it should first of all be shortened, 

 otherwise the heavy leverage exercised by its weight would tend 

 to split and tear off a portion of the bark and wood from the trunk. 

 To prune off branches high above the ground light bamboo ladders 

 should be used, or, instead of ladders, poles having alternate 



