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or winter immediately after planting. The reason for 

 deferring the pruning until spring is that one can 

 then see whether the buds to which he is pruning are 

 sound wood buds. Because trees which have been 

 removed, however short a distance they may have 

 travelled, are very liable to have some of the outer 

 buds on the shoots broken or injured, so that they do 

 not start into such active growth as to make good 

 leading shoots for future branches. 



Possibly, there may be some who do not attach so 

 much importance to the leaf system on a newly planted 

 tree as I do ; but it appears to me that the more 

 leaves a tree has, and the earlier in the season these 

 are produced, the more active the root will be, and 

 the balance of the tree will be restored much more 

 quickly than in one which has but few leaves to 

 commence with. An unpruned tree produces nearly 

 all its leaves at the beginning of the season, and 

 these can at once work for the good of the tree, and 

 for the formation of roots. 



I think it might be taken as a rule that, when a 

 tree is dug up, and the roots pruned ready for 

 planting, not more than one-third of the original roots 

 remain, and that the balance between the roots and 

 top had been disturbed to that extent. I, as a 

 gardener, was taught to attempt to restore the balance 

 by pruning the shoots back after planting, either 

 immediately after planting, or in the spring before 

 the leaves burst ; and I believe this theory is generally 

 taught to other young gardeners. But, I ask, why 

 restore the balance ? Would it not be better for the 

 tree to restore its own balance ? From my own 

 experience it is much better for the tree to do so. 



