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CHAPTER VII. 

 MANAGEMENT OF WOODS. 



SECTION I. 

 PRUNING. 



Most deciduous trees, if left to themselves, have 

 a tendency to grow with short trunks, containing 

 little timber, and to waste their strength in the 

 production of large unwieldy tops. This tendency 

 it is the office of pruning to correct ; and that pro- 

 cess, when timeously and judiciously applied, has a 

 most salutary effect in increasing the quantity of 

 measurable timber in a tree, and consequently its 

 value, when brought to market. Some kinds of 

 trees, however, there are, which, instead of receiving 

 benefit from pruning, suffer injury from it ; and it 

 will be proper to particularize these, before we pro- 

 ceed to give directions for its application, in the 

 cases where it may be practised with advantage. 



The species that do not admit of this process are 

 all the firs, including the larch, or, at least, all of 

 them, that are commonly cultivated in this country. 



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