282 PKUNING. 



here firmly should be rubbed off, and another coat 

 applied to the wound. 



" Conifers. — These trees, which are generally gre- 

 garious and form extensive forests, are valuable sub- 

 jects for sylviculture, on account of the readiness with 

 which they reproduce themselves from seed, and be- 

 cause they admirably prepare the soil to produce hard 

 woods, and especially the oak. Of the two operations 

 of pruning — the cutting close to the trunk and the 

 shortening of branches — the second need not often 

 be applied to the natural pyramidal form of firs and 

 spruces ; for these trees nothing is necessary beyond 

 removing, when possible, dead or dying branches. 



" The pines, however, when not growing under the 

 conditions peculiar to them — that is, crowded together 

 — often develop enormous branches, which greatly in- 

 terfere with the beauty and the value of the trunk, 

 the only portion of the tree possessed of any value. 

 The rules laid down for shortening the branches of 

 oaks and other deciduous trees are, in case of neces- 

 sity, applicable to pines — that is, one-third or one-half 

 of the length of the branches may be safely cut away. 

 It is essential, however, to preserve at the end of the 

 shortened branches an abundant supply of foliage, as 

 the branch of a coniferous tree deprived of leaves is 

 more certain to perish than the branch of a deciduous 

 tree under similar circumstances. A pine may in 

 this way be made to assume the natural form it 

 would have had if grown under normal conditions ; 

 the trunk lengthens and thickens regularly, giving to 

 the tree an economic value for many purposes of 

 construction, and especially for the masts and spars 

 of vessels." 



With all due respect to what the French think and 



