162 ELEMENTS OF SYLVICULTURE. 



all necessary to avoid everything that will favour 

 the reproduction of these branches, which are 

 veritable shoots, the most suitable season appears 

 to be from the middle of summer up to the first 

 frost. But scarcity of labour may necessitate cutting 

 them in any season of the year, and provided this is 

 is well done, no unfavourable results seem to follow. 



The lopping off of branches in the crown is 

 always a delicate operation, and has given rise to 

 opinions diametrically opposed to each other. In 

 order to be able to judge fairly, it is necessary to 

 distinguish between lopping off dead branches and 

 those which are still alive. 



As a consequence of the isolation of a tree, it is 

 exceedingly rare not to find some dead branches in the 

 crown. If these are mere twigs and small branches, 

 there is nothing to be done ; they will fall of 

 themselves ; the broken section will soon be covered 

 over, and will not give rise to any fault in the wood. 

 Such is not the case when a secondary branch dies. 

 A considerable number of years must pass before it 

 breaks off and the wound is grown over. Indeed 

 sometimes the wound will never heal up, and will 

 allow water to enter and filter through down to the 

 trunk of the tree, bringing decay with it. It is thus 

 that rot in the foot of a tree, or a stain caused by 

 infiltration of water, can, by making continuous 

 sections, be nearly always traced to a former dead 

 branch. It is therefore of the highest importance 

 to look for all such dead branches and cut them off 

 at their insertion on the principal branch. In this 

 way the wound is allowed to heal up, and unsound- 



