How To Prune 



The Wrong Way and the Right; 

 and Why the Latter is Worth While 



WE have already said that pruning improperly 

 done is worse than none at all. This applies 

 not only to mistakes in pruning, too much 

 pruning, or pruning at the wrong season, but also to a 

 poorly done job. With plants, as with animal life, any 

 wound is a danger spot, because it is a possible opening 

 for the entrance of various diseases. Unless it is so 

 made and cared for that it will heal quickly, it is almost 

 sure to cause trouble sooner or later. 



Practice alone, in pruning as in all other kinds of work, 

 from dish-washing to piano-playing, can bring perfection. 

 But in pruning there are many mistakes which even the 

 novice can avoid, if he or she is fore-warned. The 

 trouble is that any warning given on a printed page is 

 likely to be forgotten, imtil it has been driven home by 

 a lesson from that ungentle but effectual school ma'am, 

 "Experience." Therefore, to save yourself disappoint- 

 ment and loss where it is possible to do so, make yourself 

 thoroughly acquainted with the suggestions given in 

 this chapter, even if you have to read it over several 

 times. 



As a general rule, the earlier in the development of the 

 plant or limb, or shoot, the pruning required can be done 

 the better. 



We have seen that one of the main objects in pruning 

 is to conserve the energies of the plant that are wasted 

 by the struggle for survival among its branches, using 

 it either to increase the general vitality of the plant, or 

 to direct it to some particular part of the plant where it 

 would help along the design or end that the gardener 

 has in mind. Wherever, therefore, it is possible, prun- 

 ing should be done with the thumb and finger! In this 

 way none of the plant's strength is Wcisted on growth 

 which is merely to be cut away later. Besides this, the 

 wound left is imperceptible and heals almost at once, 



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