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As it is tlie Calii'ornian practice to plant trees from eighteen inches to 

 three feet high directly in position, ell further training must be done upon the 

 street. Hence we can see the necessity of the firm strong stake advocated before. 

 As young trees of this size do well, there is no reason to discourage this practice. 

 The only disadvantage is that in having treee spread over the city, some msy es- 

 cape notice. The tree comes from the nursery to the street with a single leader 

 and many lateral branches. One by one these lateral branches are removed 

 throwing trie strength into the main leader. This leader must be watched that it 

 keeps an upright position. Eventually the lateral branches will have been removed 

 far enough up the trunk and there they can be allowed to develop. 



For most treee it is best to have but a single leader throughout the entire 

 development. There are many exceptions of course. But the greatest generaliza- 

 tion is a single leader with a few good lateral branches which must branch in 

 turn and so on. In watching the growth of the tree certain primary lateral 

 brunches will be stronger than others. Of these, certain ones will be most desir- 

 able. The less desirable ones with the weaker branches should be thinned out and 

 the lateral branches treated in a similar fashion for their secondary branches 

 until we have a symmetrical head. To determine what branches should be left and 

 which removed, one must study the natural habit of the tree and determine what 

 procedure of pruning will give a least artificial appearance unless a frankly 

 artificial system of pruning is followed. 



Certain other methods of pruning have come to notice. For example, it has 

 been observed at Los Angeles and at Riverside that Acacia melanoxylon.. if left to 

 grow untouched, will produce a rather irregular pyramidal crown. If, however, 

 the top is severely cut out when the tree is four or five years old, the resulting 

 crown is more rounded and satisfactory. So far, all the trees so treated are 

 but seven or eight years old and the mature hnbit is as yet undetermined. In any 

 event, the untrained trees are very often of most unkempt and straggling habit. 

 Ths tree has a fashion of forming several leaders along divergent lines with most 



