400 



KOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



off all such parts of branches as have by accident been broken or 

 wounded ; for these will remain a disagreeable sight, and often occa- 

 sion disease in the tree. But you should hy no means cut off tlie main 

 leading shoots y as is by too many practised ; for those are necessary to 

 attract the sap from the root, and thereby promote the growth of the 

 tree : For, from several experiments which I made in the winter of 

 1729, by cutting off the branches of several sorts of trees, and putting 

 them into phials filled with water, whose tops were closely covered to 

 prevent the evaporating of the water, I found that those shoots, whose 

 leading beds were preserved^ did attract the moisture in much greater 

 quantity than those shoots whose tops were cut off. 



" But being willing to try this experiment again, in the month of 

 October 1733, I made choice of two standard Almond Trees of equal 

 strength and age. These I took up as carefully as possible ; and hav- 

 ing prepared their roots as before directed, I pruned their heads in the 

 following manner — viz. from one of them I cut off only the small 

 branches, and such as were bruised or broken, but preserved all the 

 strong ones entire: Of the other / shortened all the strong branches, and 

 pruned off the weak and broken shoots, as is the common practice. These 

 two trees I planted in the same soil and in the same situation, gave 

 them both equal attendance, and managed them both as nearly alike 

 as possible ; yet in the spring, when these trees began to shoot, that 

 whose branches were entirely preserved came out early ^ continued to shoot 

 stronger, and is at present much larger and in better health than the 

 other. And, since this, I have made several other experiments of the 

 like nature, which have constantly succeeded in the same manner : 

 from whence it is reasonable to conclude that the shortening of the 

 branches is a great injury to all new planted trees ; but especially to 

 Cherries and Horse-Chestnuts, which are frequently killed by shorten- 

 ing their large branches when they are removed." — Gardener's and 

 Botanist" s Diet, in voc. " Planting." 



Here, then, is the most satisfactory evidence deduced from facts, and 

 from the practice of a man of acknowledged science and observation, 

 that it is utterly injurious, even to young trees, to mutilate their roots or 

 tops, in the way commonly practised : hence we must a fortiori admit, 

 that it is far more injurious to those of old trees ; and that the more 

 sedulously both are preserved entire, the more vigorous will be their 

 development. 



In Note II. of the present section, page 893, &c. Miller, as w^e have 

 seen, so strongly reprobates the " bad philosophy" (as he terms it) or 

 want of science displayed by transplanters of large trees in his own 

 time, in lopping and lightening their tops, that it would be superfluous 



