Maintenance 107 



be done so that the tree will not be disfigured, 

 at least, not when it is covered with leaves. The 

 evergreens must be cut close exactly at the crown 

 of the branches, — I mean at the base of one 

 of its yearly growths, — and then the branches 

 tied together. This conceals the operation very 

 quickly. With deciduous trees also the branches 

 must be cut out only where another branch is 

 growing close by, so that a naked stump is never 

 left conspicuous. The oftener groups of this sort 

 are skillfully cut, the less will be the work and 

 the more thick and natural will they grow. I 

 repeat, however, that one must not miss any- 

 thing, and at the outset one should calculate how 

 high the plantations are intended to be, for after 

 too long neglect it is difficult to regulate them 

 without damage. 



I have said before that density and vigorous 

 growth in vegetation can be got only by thin- 

 ning the plantations. This is most important; 

 otherwise one rears nothing but wooden sticks, 

 which at times may find place in a park for the 

 sake of variety, but their presence cannot be con- 

 sidered the rule. For free development on all 

 sides every plant requires as much light and air 

 as it can obtain consistently with the health, 

 density, and luxuriousness of all. This is the 

 freedom of the trees, that freedom which we 

 human beings also desire so much for our- 

 selves. 



Large sections of forests, which are not in- 

 tended to be in the nature of a grove, are treated 



