84 GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 



wood, unable to yield more than one bushel of fruit in 

 ten, well matured, colored, and ripened. 



This is actually the case even in what may be called, 

 in comparison, well managed orchards. Look at the dif- 

 ference between the fruits produced on young and old trees. 

 The former are open, the fruits are exposed to the sun, and, 

 therefore, they are not only large and perfect, but their 

 skins are smooth and brilliant, as though they were painted 

 and polished. This ought to teach us something about 

 pruning ; but this is only one point. We prune one por- 

 tion of a tree to reduce its vigor, and to favor the growth 

 of another and weaker part. We prune a stem, a branch, 

 or a shoot to produce ramifications of these parts, and 

 thus change or modify the form of the whole tree. We 

 prune to induce fruitfulness, and to diminish it. We 

 prune in the growing as well as in the dormant season ; 

 and, finally, we prune both roots and branches. Thus we 

 see that pruning is applied to all parts of the tree, at all 

 seasons, and to produce the most opposite results. 



It appears necessary to treat of pruning under each of 

 these circumstances separately. 



1st. Pruning to Direct the Growth from one Part of 

 a Tree to another. The first period in the existence and 

 growth of a tree in which this becomes necessary, is in 

 the nursery. Those who have had any experience in tree 

 culture, have observed that young trees in nursery rows 

 have a tendency to increase in height without acquiring a 

 well-proportioned increase in diameter. In certain cases, 

 this want of proportion becomes so great, that the tree 

 bends under its own weight ; and hence, it is necessary 

 to resort to some method of propping it up. This con- 

 dition is attributable to several causes. First, the absence 

 of a sufficient amount of air and light around the stem, to 

 enable the leaves on it to fulfil their functions properly. 

 It has been shown that the formation of new wood de- 



