OF PRUNING. 249 



this may doubtless happen : in such cases it is cer- 

 tainly requisite that some part of the branches should 

 be pruned away ; but no more should be taken off 

 than the exigency of the case obviously requires : 

 and, if the operation of transplanting has been well 

 performed, there will be no necessity whatever. In 

 the case of the transplantation of large trees, it is al- 

 leged that branches must be removed, in order to re- 

 duce the head, so that it may not be acted upon by 

 the wind ; but in general it is easy to prevent this ac- 

 tion by artificial means.* 



* The first impulse of every young planter is to leave the entire 

 head of a transplanted tree untoiiched ; and we fear such novices wUl 

 find too abundant authority for tliis exercise of their sympathies in 

 the foregoing paragraph. But sound as the advice is, for a damp 

 climate, we are forced by experience to adopt the continental mode 

 in this country, and reduce the heads of all trees, more or less, on 

 transplanting them. The demand upon the roots in our dry sum- 

 mers, especially the first season after removal, is usually much greater 

 than they can supply, and we have seen numberless cases where 

 they have put out a fine show of gi-een leaves and commenced a 

 tolerable growth at first, only to wither and die in mid-summer ; 

 while others, treated precisely like them in all other respects, except 

 that their branches were shortened back, grew freshly and luxuri- 

 antly all the season. Certainly nothing appears more foolish and 

 unnecessary than to wantonly spoU the fair proportions of a young 

 tree whose branches have begun to assume something of graceful 

 symmetry : but when the experience of all old planters conclusively 

 proves that transplanted trees whose heads have been shortened 

 back somewhat at the extremity of every branch, have succeeded 

 almost without exception, and have always grown more vigorously, 

 and, in a few seasons, have always regained more beautiful heads 

 than those left untouched by the knife, the novice must be 

 stubborn who will plant his tree, in this climate, and see it fail 

 because he will not reduce the top sufficiently to restore the balance 

 of action between the roots and the leaves. A. J. D. 



