Practical Orcharding On Rough Lands. 233 



that it begins to heal, the better for the pa- 

 tient, let it be a person or a tree. 



There are, however, some exceptions, such 

 as have been noted under the head of pruning 

 to cause to bear fruit, to check wood growth, 

 etc. There are other exceptions that should be 

 considered which arise from habits of growth. 

 Those which come under this head are the 

 grape, maples, etc. For years it has been rec- 

 ognized as injurious to prune grapes at a 

 season which will cause them to bleed, so we 

 prune them before the growth starts, as we 

 commonly express it, before the sap rises. 



But strange to say we have been slow to 

 realize the damage which may be caused by 

 pruning trees which suffer in the same way. 

 The maples, both the hard (or sugar) and the 

 soft (or water), are often pruned at a season 

 when if the trees were in a sugar camp there 

 would be holes^ bored in the former to cause 

 the sap to flow, which is used for making sugar 

 or syrup. Yet many of us saw off great limbs 

 from these trees at this season, and the sap runs 

 down their bodies and causes the bark to die 

 for many feet. In fact, often the whole side 

 of the tree is ruined. Such trees should not be 

 pruned until the leaves are grown, when bleed- 



