122 THE NATURE AND PRACTICE 



son for not having cut aAvay tlie strong shoots or 

 brandies from the main stem when I first pruned 

 those trees, I have to observe, that had I cut them 

 away at the first course of pruning clean to the 

 bark of the trunk, the consequence would have been 

 that the sap of the young trees in its ascent would 

 have been arrested at the cut parts, young sapling 

 shoots would have been formed upon the stem 

 immediately under the cuts, and the general 

 health of the trees would have been injured from 

 the sap not rising unchecked to the top shoots : 

 these evils were avoided simply by cutting off a 

 large portion of each large branch, and leaving a 

 small portion of each upon the stem, in order to 

 continue the I'egular floAv of the sap to that part, 

 and which, from being partially weakened in the 

 branches, was proportionately forced to flow up- 

 wards to the supply of the top parts of the trees ; 

 after this had taken place, the stumps were cut 

 away without doing any injury to the trees. By 

 this method of pruning off parts of large branches 

 from a tree, I have often brought unhealthy trees 

 to a state of sound health ; and as soon as I observ- 

 ed that such trees had regained their health, which 

 is at once observable by their making vigorous 

 shoots of young wood in the top branches, I imme- 

 diately cut away the parts of the branches that 

 were left, when the wounds were soon made up by 

 the extra supply of proper woody matter, which 



