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PRINCIPLES OF PLANT CULTURE 



421. Formative pruning aims to regulate the form of 

 the plant with reference to outline or density, or to strength 

 of stem. Pruning for outline includes pruning (a) for 

 symmetry or picturesqueness ; (b) for stockiness or 

 slenderness. 



422. Symmetry and picturesqueness. — Pruning for 

 symmetry aims to develop in the plant a head that is 



Fig. 159. — Pruning for symmetry. The branches growing beyond the 

 ideal outline, indicated by the dotted line, should be cut off at the 

 points indicated. 



symmetric with reference to its trunk. The general 

 principle involved is the suppression of growth in all 

 parts that tend to grow beyond the lines of symmetry 

 (Fig. 159). This is best accomplished by pinching (416) 

 during the growth period, thus economizing the plant's 



