The Oak. 



get a covering of bark over the cut, you leave a piece of 

 dead wood beneath that bark, which, when the tree is 

 sawed out, discovers itself in the greatly inferior vahie of 

 the board or plank ; and, though you disguise the fact to 

 common eyes, you cannot disguise it to the eyes of the 

 timber-merchant, who is sure to make a note of the cir- 

 cumstance in his survey previous to the purchase of the 

 tree. When, therefore, you are compelled by some circum- 

 stance or other, to take off a live limb of any considerable 

 size, the best way is to cut it off at three or four feet from 

 the trunk of the tree : if new shoots come out of the stump, 

 the trunk will receive no injury. If the stump die, which 

 is seldom the case, it will be years in dying, and in all 

 probability would never injure the trunk. If there be a 

 limb broken off by the wind, leaving a stump with a ragged 

 end, cut back to the quick, which may bring out new 

 shoots, and thus prevent injury to the trunk. If the limb 

 be wholly dead, you must cut it out from the bottom ; and 

 if it be a limb of considerable size, the sooner you cut the 

 tree down the better ; but, if any part of the limb be alive, 

 it will be that part which is nearest to the trunk ; and 

 M'hen you have cut it back to the quick, you have done all 

 that you can do to prevent the mortal disease reaching 

 the trunk of the tree. 



438. With regard to the felling of Oaks, the Oak which 

 is cut in winter is much 'more valuable than that which is 

 cut in summer; but as Oak wood is Oak wood, and as 

 Oak wood and Oak bark will sell for more than the same 

 quantity of Oak wood alone, we scarcely hear of such a 

 thing as a winter-cut Oak. In order to have both ; in 

 order to have the skin as well as the body, and to have the 

 body sound too, some persons have barked their Oaks 

 standing, and cut down the trees the succeeding winter. 



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