162 STUDIES OF TREES 



development and the surgical treatment which they require. 

 Improper pruning will invite fungi and insects to the tree, 

 hence the importance of a knowledge of fundamental 

 principles in this branch of tree care. 



Time: Too much pruning at one time should never 

 be practiced (Fig. 112), and no branch should be removed 

 from a tree without good reason for so doing. Dead and 

 broken branches should be removed as soon as observed, 

 regardless of any special pruning season, because they are 

 dangerous, unsightly and carry insects and disease into the 

 heart of the tree. But all other pruning, whether it be for 

 the purpose of perfecting the form in shade trees, or for 

 increasing the production of fruit in orchard trees, should 

 be confined to certain seasons. Shade and ornamental 

 trees can best be pruned in the fall, while the leaves are 

 still on the tree and while the tree itself is in practically 

 a dormant state. 



Proper cutting: All pruning should be commenced 

 at the top of the tree and finished at the bottom. A 

 shortened branch (excepting in poplars and willows, which 

 should be cut in closely) should terminate in small twigs 

 which may draw the sap to the freshly cut wound; where 

 a branch is removed entirely, the cut should be made 

 close and even with the trunk, as in Fig. 113. Wher- 

 ever there is a stub left after cutting off a branch, the 

 growing tissue of the tree cannot cover it and the stub 

 eventually decays, falls out and leaves a hole (see Fig. 

 114), which serves to carry disease and insects to the 

 heart of the tree. This idea of close cutting cannot be 

 over-emphasized. 



Where large branches have to be removed, the splitting 

 and ripping of the bark along the trunk is prevented by 

 making one cut beneath the branch, about a foot or two 



