STREET TREES. 



51 



should be the removal of such branches as can be spared. If enough 

 buds can not be removed in this way without leaving the head too 

 open, then the shortenmg of the branches must follow. It is usually 

 necessary to remove three-fourths of the limbs to accomplish this. 

 An expert can do this pruning or most of it more easily before the 

 tree is planted than afterwards. Some additional pruning may be 

 necessary after the tree is set. 



In addition to the pruning of the top the roots may need some 

 cutting. Any broken pieces or ends should be removed, making a 

 clean cut with a sharp knife, as new rootlets put out more readily 

 from a cleanly cut fresh surface than from ragged breaks. If the 

 roots are very long, without branches or rootlets, it sometimes makes 

 planting easier to cut off some of the ends. As roots are the braces 



Fig. 36.— Types of tree guards. 



-RC SU 

 P20372HP 



by which a tree is supported in the ground, it is undesirable to 

 reduce their length unless some positive good is to be gained by it. 



The best implement for cutting small limbs is a sharp knife, and 

 for larger limbs a fine-toothed saw. Prunmg shears are sometimes 

 used, but they are likely to bruise the wood. If used at aU, the 

 blade should always be turned toward the tree so that the bruise 

 made by the supporting bar Avill be on the portion cut off. Where 

 branches are taken off, the cut should be close to the remaining 

 limb, so that no suggestion of a stub wiU remain. (Figs, 34 and 35.) 

 Where ends are cut from branches the cut should be just above a 

 bud, and the remaining bud should point in the direction that it is 

 desired the limb should grow. 



STAKES AND GUARDS. 



Under city conditions young trees need the support of a strong 

 stake as weU as protection for the trunk. Boys like to swing around 

 small trees or see the tops fly up if bent to the ground. Men find 

 them convenient hitching posts for their horses, and horses frequently 



