CHAPTER V 

 PRUNING PRINCIPLES 



Horticultural literature is full of rules for pruning, but 

 since many of these apply to specific plants, aims and con- 

 ditions, and therefore may not apply to other plants, aims 

 and conditions, the reader is likely to encounter many 

 apparent contradictions. From the standpoint of prac- 

 tice the student can become proficient only by working 

 with a considerable number of plants, not merely speci- 

 mens, but varieties and species, under widely varying 

 environments. This is because no two specimens grow- 

 ing even side by side are alike. The differences in habit 

 shown by varieties of the same species are still greater, 

 and those between species greater yet ; and all these dif- 

 ferences are augmented or modified by the natural or 

 artificial conditions under which the plants are growing. 

 In order, therefore, to eliminate or at least somewhat 

 reduce this confusion, the effort has been made to state 

 the most important principles upon which rational prun- 

 ing is based. 



76. Pruning aims. The aims of pruning may be 

 grouped under three ideals. Namely, the forester's, the 

 landscape gardener's or ornamental horticulturist's and 

 the flower or fruit grower's. So far as pruning is con- 

 cerned the forester is mainly interested in securing tree 

 trunks which shall be free from large knots and decay. 

 He considers beauty of form and yield of fruit little if at 

 all. The landscape gardener and the ornamental horti- 

 culturist endeavor to have their plants attractive, either 

 as individual specimens or as groups. If they consider 

 the trunks of their specimens, it is not with a forester's 

 eye to later profit, and if they think of the fruit at all it 

 is for the sake of beauty. The florist and the fruit grower, 



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