OF PRUNING TEEES. 107 



out into the forest ; which system of close pruning 

 is most injurious to the health of all young trees 

 when newly lifted from the ground. The system 

 of pruning which is generally practised by foresters 

 in this case is, to cut off clean to the main stem, 

 all strong branches, and only leave a few small 

 twigs near the top of the plant, with the view of 

 drawing up the sap. The natural consequences of 

 such a cutting off of all the stronger branches from 

 a young tree are, that, when the sap ascends in the 

 plant in the spring, it is arrested at the wound 

 where the first or lowest branch was taken off, and 

 escapes from the cut part by evaporation; and 

 the sap being thus arrested, there is a natural 

 effort made by' the plant to produce young shoots 

 and leaves at this point, in order to convert the 

 sap into proper woody matter; consequently, we 

 ahnost always find a few young shoots made the 

 first season immediately under the part where the 

 lower strong branch was taken from the plant, and 

 all the rest of the young tree above this growth of 

 young shoots dies — the sap not rising to carry on 

 life above the part where the new shoots spring out ; 

 and, even if the sap should not be all arrested at 

 the point referred to, the part above it remains in 

 a sickly and unhealthy state ; while the young 

 shoots produced lower down draw all the nourish- 

 ment to themselves, and ultimately form a distort- 

 ed unshapely plant, unless it be carefully attended 



