steuart's planter's guide. 



299 



tion, that pruning is of a corresponding nature vAth 

 culture, in increasing the annual circles of the 

 wood*. Culture, if judiciously executed, increases 

 these annual circles; but common pruning up (which, 

 from the general bearing of the language, we suppose 

 is meant), nine times out of ten diminishes them, 

 and merely tends to extend the stem in length, by 

 throwing all the new formation of branches to the 

 top of the tree, in place of partly to the sides. Thence 

 the tree acquires a slenderer figure, and more deli- 

 cate constitution ; and from greater height, and 

 being without cover of side-branches, loses more by 

 evaporation, and receives less moistm'e from the 

 ground, which is dried by the breeze passing along 

 under the branches ; the principal process of vege- 

 tation, assimilation by the leaves, being reduced 

 by the pruning, and carried on at an unnatural 

 height, in a colder less genial atmosphere, under a 

 diminished supply of nourishment from the ground, 

 is consequently less productive of new assimilized 



* The preliminary sentence is very vaguely worded ; we sup- 

 pose, " increasing the annual circles," naeans increasing them in 

 thickness, not general contents of length multiplied by thickness. 

 But even in the latter sense, we hold pruning tends generally to 

 diminish the annual circles. 



