PRUNING AND TRAINING. 227 



branches with fruit and those with none, and which serve 

 only to nourish the tree; second, in establishing an equili- 

 brium among the parts of the tree, so that neither side- 

 nor its leader may grow out of proportion so as to weaken 

 the other side or the base by drawing to itself all the sap." 



Pruning is most commonly intended either to improve 

 the form of the tree by directing the growth from one 

 part to another; to renew the growth of stunted trees; 

 to induce or diminish fruitfulnessj to remove diseased or 

 decaying branches; and iu cases of transplanting, to 

 proportion the head to the roots. 



In pruning to improve the form of the tree, whether fruit 

 trees, or ornamental trees in pleasure grounds, the object 

 is to preserve its natural shape, so that it may be an 

 agreeable object on the lawn, or when combined with 

 others in a group. Lawn trees should never have the 

 stems trimmed up to bare poles, but the branches should 

 proceed from near the ground, so that when covered with 

 foliage they will nearly sweep the surface, and be one 

 mass of green from the base to the top. So in all kinds 

 of fruit trees, the branches should be allowed to proceed 

 from the trunk about a foot and a half from the ground. 

 Such trunks are screened from our burning sun, and are 

 much more healthy and fruitful than those with naked 

 stems five or six feet high. Every tree growing naturally 

 has its trunk sheltered from the sun. If it grow in the 

 open ground, this is accomplished by its own branches, 

 while in the forest all the trunks are sheltered by the 

 canopy of foliage above. If one part of the tree is dis- 

 posed to outgrow another, and thus destroy the balance, 

 it may be shortened in winter, and the shoots pinched off 

 the next summer, until the sap is thrown in the right 

 direction into weaker branches that were left entire, and 

 the balance is restored. When it is desired that new 

 shoots of a branch should take an upright direction, prune 



