THE TEEATMENT OF THE SHOOT 159 



developed, it remains short, often indeed buncliy, and is very 

 prone to produce flowering buds. 



If the notch heals up, it still remains of some importance 

 for the next year, as the wood first formed in that place is 

 large celled and will be able to store up starch. Still it is 

 advisable to repeat the notching if the desired result is not 

 obtained in the first year. 



What has been said here about the bud is equally applicable 

 to a shoot or branch. The size of the notch must, of course, 

 depend on the size of the branch. In a one-year's shoot, the 

 breadth of the notch may vary from one-twentieth to one-quarter 

 of an inch, whereas in a strong branch it may rise to one-half 

 or two-thirds of an inch. The best season for performing this 

 operation is the late summer or beginning of autumn, as the 

 buds will have time to gain some advantage from the altered 

 conditions of nutrition. 



(d.) Ringing. 



Ringing is the term given to the removal of a narrow ring 

 of cortex and bast during the period of greatest cambial 

 activity, when the outer layers come away most easily from 

 the wood. The wound dries up very soon, as the outermost 

 layers of the young wood which is exposed (splint-wood) are 

 very readily dried. This reduces the upward conduction of 

 water to a slight extent, and in the same way the upward 

 passage through the cortical cells is stopped. That such a 

 passage from cell to cell does actually take place can be seen 

 when strips of cortical tissue are separated from the woody 

 cylinder, but are left attached to the branches at their upper 

 ends. If in such cases the transpiration from the wound is 

 prevented by surrounding the branch with a glass cylinder, it 

 will be found that the strips die off below, but remain turgid 

 near the upper end, and often form new wood cells on the 

 inside. Water, therefore, with the nutritive salts it contains, 

 moves along the cortex independently of the wood, and thus 

 supplements the action of the latter. But besides the reduc- 

 tion in the passage of water due to the removal of tissues, the 



