CHAPTER XV 

 PRUNING ORNAMENTAL SHRUBS AND TREES 



265. Shade trees those whose flowers are incon- 

 spicuous rarely receive the attention they deserve. They 

 are planted and left to themselves with the result that 

 they develop Y-crotches, limbs too near the ground (Fig. 

 292) or too high up, or too irregular or other faults. The 

 same principles used to form the heads of fruit trees will 

 apply with more or less modification to the development 

 of shade tree heads. The results of neglect apparent on 

 every hand are especially noticeable when winter storms 

 load the branches with heavy coatings of ice. One of 

 these storms recently more or less seriously broke several 

 score of shade trees, principally Norway maples, on the 

 campus of the Pennsylvania State College. Several trees 

 with Y-crotches were thus broken down ; and many 

 others were cracked so severely that another such storm 

 will break them because of the activity of decay that has 

 gained entrance through the cracks then formed or ex- 

 tended from previous splitting. Figure 94 shows a char- 

 acteristic view on the campus just after the storm. The 

 beauty of this tree has been ruined. 



Beyond the removal of dead, dying and broken parts 

 and the occasional shortening of too rampant or too 1<>\\ 

 hanging branches, shade trees properly started demand 

 very little pruning. The time required to give the tree- 

 an annual inspection will be well spent, for it should 

 lead to the adoption of measures that will prevent in- 

 juries which if incurred might be ineffective and ex 

 pensive. 



266. A good hedge depends for its success upon the 

 kind of plant, the thickness of the planting, the choice of 

 form, the regular periodic attention and, to a less extent. 



354 



