CHAPTER VII 



THE TREATMENT OF THE SHOOT 



§ 25. Why must the shoots of our cultivated plants be pruned ? 



In all our horticultural efforts we desire a well-proportioned 

 plant. Furthermore, we seek to increase the economic value 

 of the plants by increasing the quality or quantity of its crop, 

 or by decreasing the time necessary for its production. 



Lastly, we have to take into consideration the portability of 

 the plants. 



Leaving out of consideration the short-lived herbaceous 

 plants, we find that most plants which are left to themselves 

 suffer considerably from accidental injuries (by storms or in- 

 sects, &c.), which spoil their appearance. Then the fashion 

 of the day often prescribes forms which nature would never 

 or rarely wish to produce. We need only refer to the artificial 

 forms of French trees, to the globular, pyramidal, or columnar 

 forms of flowering shrubs in pots and in the open. To pro- 

 duce such forms, or to repair the damages to the crown of a 

 ti-ee, it is necessary to regulate its growth by taking away old 

 or adding new branches. 



To increase the productiveness, too, it is necessary to adopt 

 special methods of treatment. Even when a tree is grown for 

 the sake of its wood, it does not, when left to itself, always 

 produce the form most desired. In growing trees for masts 

 or tall poles, for long boards or beams, we cannot entirely 

 rely upon growing them in closely-packed plantations. Any 

 gap in the plantation is taken advantage of by the trees to 

 produce strong branches, which must be removed by the 

 forester. If with the French method of arboriculture a fruit- 

 bearing crown is to be confined to a very limited space, the 

 natural production of branches must be reduced, and the 

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