ee) General Care of Trees 
summer the leaves are also a hindrance to the work, and, 
besides, a certain amount of food in leaves and young parts 
would be lost to the tree, endangering the life of a propor- 
tionate number of rootlets, or at least unnecessarily reduc- 
ing the reserve stores. Light trimming, however, may 
usually be done in summer with impunity. 
For pruning into live parts it is better to wait until the 
foliage has withered, when the food contents of the leaves 
have been withdrawn into the 
trunk and become available for 
the unfolding of the next year’s 
buds. 
The cold winter makes prun- 
ing an uncomfortable operation, 
and the results are therefore 
hazardous and less efficient. It is, in addition, physiologically 
undesirable, except on mild days, as, owing to the uneven 
expansion of bark and wood under the influence of frost, the 
wood is apt to shrink away from the bark, and a consider- 
able portion of the cambium may be killed, rendering the 
healing process more difficult. 
For the choice of early spring (March or April) it is said 
that then the healing process of the wounds sets in at once, 
or at least sooner than when made in the fall, and the dan- 
ger of fungus infection is reduced. 
But as a matter of fact it is generally believed that the 
season has not any appreciable influence on the healing of 
the wound, provided the pruning is properly done, which 
means also proper protection of the wound. Large wounds 
especially are best made in fall or early winter (October, 
November, and December in the Northern States) rather 
than in spring. In winter the bark adheres firmly and the 
wood is dry so that the paint or tar can be more readily 
Fic 20 — English shears 
