EXPERIMENTS IN PRUNING. 287 



the vitality of the lower branches be much checked so 

 long as thinning is continued or required, which should 

 rather be under than over thirty years' growth. 



Seeing, therefore, that coniferous trees require to be 

 superabundantly clothed with branches, covered indeed 

 to the surface of the ground during the first fifteen 

 years or so of their growth, and only partially checked 

 during the next fifteen, it becomes the question, What 

 has pruning to do, or is required to do, in promoting 

 their growth ? 



I have seen and examined many thousands of acres 

 of coniferous plantations in various parts of the king- 

 dom, but have never met with one of which it could 

 be said the trees had too many branches. On the 

 other hand, I have seen, and see almost daUy, planta- 

 tions much in need of them. If a pine or fir planta- 

 tion is in such a state as to require pruning, no further 

 proof is wanted to show that the crop is too thin upon 

 the ground to be good and profitable, and pruning, 

 which is only another form of thinning, would ag- 

 gravate rather than diminish the evil. So far, then, 

 pruning of coniferous plantations in general has been 

 shown to be objectionable, nor is there any compensat- 

 ing benefit imparted to the tree through the process. 



