448 Crc^s System of Pruning Forest Trees. 



the leaves perform in the vegetable economy. Now, as branches 

 are the supports or pedestals of leaves, and as the latter are of 

 such vital importance to the proper growth of the tree, and the 

 increase in magnitude of the stem, it is the leading feature in 

 the system of pruning just to be explained to operate upon the 

 branches in such a manner as not to prove injurious, but to 

 accelerate the growth of the tree. 



To manage woods in a proper manner, young trees should be 

 examined even the third year after they are planted ; and if any 

 more leading shoots than one are found to exist, the best one 

 should be selected, and the others shortened to one half the 

 length of the selected shoot. This practice of examining the 

 trees should be continued every year till they are about 1 5 ft. 

 in height. These shortenings, however, which should not be 

 confined to superfluous leading shoots, but should include any 

 branch which is gaining a disproportionate ascendancy over other 

 branches of the same year's growth, should, at first, and even 

 for some time pi'evious to this stage of the growth of the plant, 

 be more cautiously done than is necessary to be observed after- 

 wards; and should increase in severity as the tree approaches to, 

 and after it is, 15 ft. in height. 



The process of examining a tree is a simple one; it is done in 

 a moment by the pruner casting his eye over the whole tree, 

 and detecting the branches which require to be shortened. 

 And, as a general rule, when it is found that any branch has a 

 greater growth upon it than the leading shoot, it should be 

 shortened by cutting off as much as will reduce it to half the 

 length of the leading shoot, or even less. By this I mean any 

 branch which is either of greater thickness generally, or near 

 its junction with the main stem of the tree, than the leading 

 shoot is at the same distance from its top. And, as trees pro- 

 duce only one regular tier of branches in each year, any branch 

 should be shortened which is of a greater length than the ma- 

 jority of the branches of the same tier ; or if the whole are too 

 long, they must be shortened. In the case of trees intended for 

 timber, after they are at and above 15 ft. in height, this rule of 

 shortening the branches must also be applied to the undermost 

 tiers of branches. In this manner, all the under branches of any 

 importance will have been shortened, which prepares them for 

 the next operation. 



After the trees are about 15 ft. in height, the undermost 

 tier of branches only should all be cut off close to the stem in 

 one year ; in the subsequent year another tier of branches 

 should, in the same manner, be cut off, and so on every year 

 afterwards, always cutting off only a single tier in one year. 

 The same process of shortening the branches is always to be 

 continued, as before directed, but must be discontinued some 



