214 



PRUNING AND THINNING. 



PT. IV. 



a double rope fifty feet from the ground, fifty feet of 

 rope will pass through your hands, and no mechanical 

 advantage is gained. But if you haul yourself up fifty 

 feet by a double rope, 100 feet of rope will pass 

 through your hands ; and as in ascending the whole 

 space the hands will pass over twice the space of rope, 

 so at any particular part of the ascent they will require 

 only half the exertion. 



The saw should have a loop to the handle, so as to 

 hang on your arm while climbing. A rope or belt 

 round the tree and your body, which you can lean 

 back against while at work, adds infinitely to your 

 power. 



Best tim< March and April are my two months for pruning 

 _OTprun i-pggg which do not bleed. At that time branches 

 have returned their downward sap for the nutriment 

 of the root, and have scarcely yet begun to receive 

 the new supply upward, and they will bequeath their 

 annual share of this to the leader and other heirs of 

 your choosing : and, the leaves being off, you can 

 clearly see to which the talents should be entrusted. 



I never dare touch sycamore or walnut except in 

 summer. I have never known any tree bleed when in 

 full leaf. I have known sycamore and walnut bleed 

 when pruned at Christmas, which corroborates the idea 

 of a winter circulation of sap ; but perhaps we have 

 an undue horror of bleeding from pruning. The 

 southern vineyards are always pruned in the bleeding 

 season : and the more freely they bleed, the better the 



