1887. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



53 



On the Pruning of Trees. 



At the outset it is easy to conclude that the 

 pruning of both fruit and shade trees is a prac- 

 tice much neglected and abused. Many or- 

 chards consist of trees so dense with brush as 

 to shut out light and sun from the interior of 

 the heads, causing the fruit to be both small and 

 of poor quality. In others the pruning has been 

 done to excess, and with poor judgment, leav- 

 ing the trees trimmed up with long weak 

 trunks, or else to be one-sided. Perhaps more 

 common than any other fault in this line is the 

 one shown in the first figure herewith. 



This is of an Apple tree maimed and reduced 

 in vigor by an excessive cutting of large 

 branches, and this done very badly, leaving 

 many ugly stumps. In cases of this kind it is 



Fig 1. An Apple Tree shoiving bad ejects of Pruyi- 



ing large bra nches and leaving ugly stumps. 

 impossible for the pruning scars to bark over, 

 and in time decay must set in, leading to vital 

 injury by moisture and air entering the tree. 



That which is true of orchard trees in the 

 last respect named, is no less true in many cases 

 in the pruning of shade and street trees to 

 have high trunks — in itself a thing quite desira- 

 ble. As to these, hardly any sight is more 

 common than that of Maple and other trees, 

 badly mutilated, not only by over-severe cut- 

 ting, but by the wretched practice of leaving 

 limb stumps from a few inches to a foot long, 

 as indicated in figure 3. Such treatment in- 

 evitably leads to unsightly imperfections on 

 the trunks, and worse yet, to heart decay and 

 premature death. 



To have a standard fruit tree so open through- 

 out the top as to be accessible both to sunlight 

 from the outside and to the person who jiicks 

 the fruit from the interior is an important end 

 to secure. So in the case of shade trees, it is 

 best for comfort and health that these should 

 be clear of branches and foliage for at least ten 

 feet from the ground, and also that undue 

 closeness throughout the head be jirevented. 

 But such desirable ends can be reached and 

 to the best possible advantage, without, in 

 any case, ever pruning a large branch, and to 

 this subject we shall now devote attention. 



The secret of this matter is, to begin the 

 pruning rightly and at the right time, namely, 

 on the j'oung tree just from the nursery, and 

 then conduct all pnining as nearly as possible 

 on the principle of nerer cuftinr/ a branch that 

 is larrjer through than a man's thumb. This 

 might be styled the thumb-gauge system of 

 pruning trees. Let us first, in its application, 

 take the case of an Apple tree. What we want 

 to secure in this is a healthy, prolific tree, hav- 

 ing a well balanced head and the best possible 

 form for admitting light to all parts of the in- 

 terior, without ever sacrificing one large branch 

 in the pruning. A tree of this description is 

 shown in figure 4, and we wiU presume it is 

 the outgrowth of a young tree having the ap- 

 peaiance of the one in figure 3, as it came from 

 the nursery. Taking in hand a tree like the 

 latter, we start off on the basis that all trees 

 need pruning at the time of transplanting, to 

 offset the ' ' priming '' the roots received in the 

 process of digging. At this first pruning is 



the time to lay out with great care the frame 

 of branches of the future tree. A study of the 

 head is made and about six of the leading 

 shoots, starting out in different directions at 

 about an equal distance apart, are chosen for 

 the future ground work. All the other shoots 

 (those in the case referred to being mai'ked by 

 a cross line near the main part) are to be cut 

 entli-ely away. The reserved ones also need, 

 as shown, cutting back about one-half. 



With foundation branches thus provided, 

 the future pruning should be directed for their 

 preservation and development, seeing that 

 year by year they become ampl3', but not too 

 densely, furnished with branches. Being 

 guided by the thumb gauge in pruning, by go- 

 ing over the tree annually its form may with 

 light work be controlled, and the tree never be 

 brought to suffer cutting so severe as to great- 

 ly tax its vitality. Indeed on this plan much 

 of the pruning could be done in the smiuner, 

 by a mere rubbing off of such shoots as appear 

 where they are not wanted. 



With shade trees the same rule of early pro- 

 viding a frame work of branches, and then 

 pruning by the thumb gauge should be aimed 

 for. Here there may often be more difficulty, 

 because the branches of such trees as they 

 come from the niu'sery are seldom as high as 

 ten feet from the ground for the lowest ones. 

 One should then wait for the growth of new 

 branches farther up, to be treated as the per- 

 manent ones, in the meantime cutting the 

 larger ones — those as large as a thumb — and 

 leaving some that ai-e smaller, temporarily along 

 the trunk, to excite activity of growth and de- 

 velopment in those jjarts. As any of the lat- 

 ter reach the thumb size, let them be pruned 

 completely away, and finally when the frame 

 branches above are established, all such lower 

 ones should be removed. 



Beyond getting the frame work of street 

 and shade trees thus started well up and on 

 the thumb-gauge system, little if any system- 

 atic training is needed for these. Certain kinds 

 may grow very dense and would be better off 

 for some interior thinning. Others, like the 

 Silver Maple, often produce long slender 

 branches that should be headed back occasion- 

 ally, to induce greater compactness. Still, in 

 pruning any trees of this class, the distinct 

 character of the growth of each kind should 

 never be much interfered with, although it 

 may at times be modified with benefit. 



Most of the foregoing directions apply to 

 trees in which a right principle in pruning 

 was applied fi'om the time they were small. 

 But, as already stated, trees without number 

 exist which are now in bad shape from lack of 



Fig. 2. A Street Tree badly pnined, leaving stumps. 



good treatment as to this. While our direc- 

 tions thus far will serve to give an idea of 

 what is desirable as the end of all standard 

 tree pruning, some general remarks will now 

 be advanced to apply to all work in this line. 



First of all, let tree pruning of every kind be 

 looked upon as a mere expedient to certain de- 

 sirable ends, such as directing a better form, 

 forcing vigor into certain parts bj- removing 



others, but at the same time, as one in itself 

 tendiuff to impair rather than increase vital- 

 itij. While a thrifty tree, vine or plant may 

 boar a good deal of jiruning, if thLs be con- 

 fined to green shoots or young branches, with 



Fig 4. A icell-jyruned Apple Tree. 



general benefit, the taking off of large branch- 

 es should as a rule be looked ujion as a severe 

 tax on life. When therefore a tree for any 

 reason requires heavy ])runing it should notall 

 be done at once, but through several years. 

 While at any time between leaf-fall and the 

 starting of new leaves is a suitable season for 

 general jiruning, heavy branches should not 

 be removed previous to or during the colder 

 weather, as the lack of their shelter and the 

 presence of large woumls, renders the tree 

 more susceptible to injury from cold. Wait 

 with pruning such until towards Spring. 



The place to cut a branch, large or small, 

 is just where the swelling at the base begins. 

 Then if the surface be heavily 

 coated with paint of good 

 body, to keep out air and 

 moisture, the scar will, in vig- 

 orous trees, bark completely 

 over in the best possible man- 

 ner. To leave, in pnuiing, 

 stumps of any length is a 

 practice as abominable as it is 

 without excu.se; the presence 

 of such entirely prevents the 

 healing up of the womid, while 

 the old wood must in time 

 decay, leading to an ojiening 

 into the heart of the tree, as 

 alluded to before. 



A sufficient cause for the cutting of a branch 

 should be found if it is dead or dying (such 

 being in a great degree exhaustive to the tree), 

 or if it chafes or crosses another branch, or if 

 detracting badly from a jjroper balance of parts, 

 or if its absence is required for atbuitting sun 

 into the tree, or to allow the picker of fruit to 

 move readily among the branches. 



In pruning to regulate general snnmetry, 

 one should be careful as to the position of the 

 last I'emaining bud or branch of any part. 

 If the growth in general is too upright, cut 

 back to buds or branches that point outwards ; 

 if too sjjreading, then to such as point upwards 

 or inwards. Long pole-like branches should 

 be guarded against. 



Let it always be remembered that the object 

 of pi-uning is to give direction to growth, not 

 to promote it. For promoting growth depen- 

 dence should be had on cultivation and top 

 dressing with manui'e. 



. 3. A Young 

 Tree. 



Where there are ample sized patches of hardy 

 flowers and plants such as Pinks, Lilies, Dutch 

 Bulbs, Valley Lilies, Strawberries. Rhubarb, etc., 

 or a number of any one kind of tlowering or fruit- 

 bearing sUnibs. by applying a heavy mulch over 

 the roots of a part of these in the winter when the 

 ground is frozen at its deepest, for the purpose of 

 causing it to thaw out slowly in places next spring, 

 a difference of more than a week in favor of 

 lateness may be had in the maturity of the product 

 from such mulched parts. By this means the sea- 

 son of any one kind may be considerably extended. 



