226 



GARDEXIXG FOR THE SOUTH. 



to the bud as possible, without injury to it. The knife is 

 entered directly opposite to the base of the bud, and 

 comes out even with the point of the bud. Iu this way 

 the bud will not suffer, and the cut quickly heals. Iu 

 Figure 95 the cut is so far above the bud that the shoot 

 will die down to near the bud, and require to be again 

 cut off that it may heal over. If the cut is made, com- 

 mencing too far below the bud, as at Figure 96, the bud 



is badly nourished and 

 will be less vigorous, 

 and perhaps perish. In 

 cutting off a branch it 

 should not be cut so 

 close to the stem as to 

 wound it, nor should the 

 cut be larger than the 

 base of the branch, or so 

 long as to leave a snag 

 to decay slowly for 

 years, if indeed it does 

 not send out new vig 

 orous shoots again re 

 quiring removal. 



Considered mechani 



Fig. 94. 



Fig. 95. 



Fig. 96. 

 Operating on Branches. 



cally, the great art is to make a clean, smooth cut, so as 

 to leave the bark in a healthy state to cover the wound, 

 and to prune so near a bud as to leave no dead wood. 

 Hence, if the branch be removed with the saw, the cut 

 must be smoothed over with the knife. In cutting off 

 large branches, the wound should be covered with graft 

 ing wax, or painted over with Mr. Downing's preparation 

 of shellac dissolved in alcohol, in order to exclude the air. 

 General Principles of Pruning. — The secret of 

 pruning judiciously consists in, first, " Calculating intelli 

 gently the proportion one ought to establish between the 



