^•] 



PRUNING. 



67 



be attended with some danger, and should not, I con- 

 sider, be done if it can be avoided. The safer plan with 

 trees of moderate growth is to let a part of the branch 

 remain if it is still living and capable of putting out 

 foliage; say a foot or two in length, taking care at the 

 same time not to leave it rugged at the end. 



It should be neither cut horizontally nor square to 

 the branch, but perpendicularly, or in the direction most 

 certain to prevent water lying on the surface (Fig. 14). 



If the branch is dead, or will soon die, however, it is 

 absolutely necessary to cut it as close to the stem as 

 possible, in order 

 that the sound 

 cambium of the 

 latter may cover 

 the wood as soon 

 as possible. In all 

 cases where fea- 

 sible, it is a good 

 plan to cover the 

 wound at once pig- is- 



with hot tar. 



A tree is occasionally wounded and damaged by a 

 blow. It may have been struck by the fall of another 

 contiguous to it, or in some other way — e.g. by the scorch- 

 ing of a ground fire ; such bruises, etc., often penetrate no 

 farther than the bark, and simply leave evidence of it 

 later on, in what is technically termed " rind-gall " 

 (Fig. 15). This is a defect, inasmuch as the concentric 

 layers at this part are not organically united, but simply 

 deposited over each other ; but there is usually no decay 

 of the wood. If, however, the injury be more severe, 

 and the alburnum and duramen are contused, the 

 wounded part no longer resists, but largely absorbs 



F 2 



