ORCHARD AND TIXEYARD. 



Pruning— Making the Cut_Iii prnning branches firom trees with the 

 knife, the method of making the cut is a matter of some importance. "We 

 have had some Uluatrations made, 

 showing several ways, often fol- 

 lowed, which are wrong, and the 

 one which is right; a shows the 

 right method of making the cut, at 

 an angle of about fortv-flve degrees, 

 and having the bud at the back in 

 the best position for throwing new 

 bark and wood quickly over the 

 wound; 6 shows too much of the 

 wood cut away, leaving the bud ex- 

 posed and hable to die by drying or 

 freezing; c, this cut was started 

 right, but, owing to a dull knife or 

 want of firmness in the hand, the 

 cut was made too sloping. This 

 will not heal over so quickly as the cut at a; d, e, and / are all wrong; tha 

 wood above the bud dying will cause knots and perhaps decay. Crooked 

 limbs will also result from these ways of cutting. 



Pruning Det-iduou* Tree*. — As a general rule, the less shade trees are 



pruned the better. Nature will* 



form a better top and a more har- 



[pC;^ M T^^^^ f '^j^ monions free in all its parts than 



iwi JB ui' 1 ^^ft ' -m '^^ Severe pruning is no longer 



S^B ■ i^^V jJ. '^3 practiced, even in fi-uit orchards, 



*j^ ■ i-rwm J^ ',3 \,j our best horticulturists. The 



custom that formerly prevailed of 

 pruning evergreens and other 

 frees, so aa to make top-shaped, 

 ovate, and other fantastic tops, is 

 no longer regarded as good taste. 

 If you want a tree with a low- 

 spreading top, plant one that grows 

 that way. If you want an ovate or 

 pyramidal top, plant a tree that will 

 make such a top, but do not at- 

 tempt to force trees to assume dif- 

 ferent forms from those which nature gives them. Each free freated in this 

 way is a standing he, and proclaims to every passer-by the folly of its owner. 

 The true idea is to make each species assume, as nearly as possible, the 

 typical form of that species. To do this, some pruning is sometimes neces- 

 Bary. If the trees are not crowded— if each one has room enough for the air 



