34 FOREST TREES. 
leading shoot, should be shortened or cut out entirely. 
The Black Walnut, Butternut, Tulip tree and Chest- 
nut are apt to throw out large side branches which 
take too much from the growth of the leading shoot. 
Suckers from the base of the tree should be cut away. 
, Where suckers are thrown out in consequence of the , 
stem of the tree being unthrifty or injured, the latter 
may be cut off, and one of the suckers allowed to take 
its place. In close plantations the trees may be trim- 
med up, two-thirds of their height, but too many 
branehes should not be taken off at once. Some 
kinds of trees require but little pruning. If prop- 
erly treated while small, they will require less atten- 
tion, in this respect, as they grow larger; and when 
their branches interlock, and their stems are thickly 
shaded, they will need little if any pruning. It 
should be always borne in mind that the main object 
in pruning forest trees is to give a proper direction 
to their growth. In an artificial plantation, properly 
managed, a great majority of the trees will be of 
value for timber; in a natural forest the reverse is 
usually the case; the greater part being fit only for 
firewood. 
The best time to prune is, in my opinion, the an- 
tumn after the trees have ceased their growth. Where 
branches are taken off at this season, the wood hard- 
ens, and the wounds heal without decay. They may 
not heal as speedily as when the pruning is done in 
the growing season, but they heal better, which is, 
perhaps, more important. Side branches making a 
too rampant growth should be checked by clipping 
lwo 
