Pruning 



it is postponed as long as possible. This will 

 have more effect than the nipping on the 

 impulse imparted to the weak portion. The 

 greater the number of branches that are 

 suppressed the fewer will be the number of 

 guests for the sap, the excess of which will 

 help the branches that need strengthening. 



The cause that diverts the sap from the 

 pruned or nipped portion to the part that is 

 intact, is evidently the greater or less sup- 

 pression of the foliage. It is the leaves, by 

 the constant evaporation proceeding on their 

 surface, that cause the ascent of the fluid 

 drawn from the ground by the roots. The 

 more numerous they are at any point the 

 more abundantly the sap flows towards it ; the 

 fewer there are the less sap is received. If 

 we diminish the number of leaves in any part 

 by nipping or any other method, we also 

 diminish the supply of sap, which will turn in 

 other directions, to parts with more leaves, 

 which will attract it by evaporation. It will 

 be seen that we may adopt a middle course 

 between the nipping which partly suppresses 

 the foliage of a young plant, and the removal 

 of the shoot, which stops it altogether. This 

 consists in removing a certain number of 

 leaves from the over-strong shoots. They 



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