PRUNING RESERVE TREES. 



41 



The new leader thus formed will soon begin to grow, 

 and in a short time will entirely change the appear- 

 ance of a stunted sickly tree (Fig. 36), which, so 

 treated, will become straight and vigorous. 



Fig. 35. Method of forming a 

 leader for a young tree by straight- 

 ening up a lateral branch. 



Fig. 36. Badly grown tree 

 twenty to thirty years old. First 

 pruning 



In the case of young trees with a forking main stem, 

 only one of the leaders should be allowed to remain, 

 and the one preserved should be the more nearly up- 

 right of the two, without regard to its size or length. 

 A strong strap, fastened to the stump of the suppressed 

 branch, may, if necessary, be used to draw up the 

 leader into a straight position (Fig. 37) ; when this is 

 necessary proper precautions, however, must be taken 

 to prevent the bark from being injured by the strap. 



Often young reserve trees otherwise desirable to pre- 

 serve are unable, from the unfavorable conditions under 

 which they have grown or on account of injuries re* 



