102 



Che ^mhmx'B floKthlg. 



opinion, they bore rameli yotmger, and are more 

 healthy and' vigorous?. 



The sam« rule holds good iT we prwn^ the trees 

 when young in the nursery. In the Spring of 1864',. 

 we ret^et a lot of trees seren years old, which had 

 been> tr--insplanted into the nursery rows when three 

 j^ears old, and prnned ii'p at the tiriie to different 

 heights. A lot of S'ummer Fearmain, those pruned 

 up two feet now average lOf inches in circumfer- 

 ence, those prune<l- up three feet high average !) 

 rnches, ami a much greater difference is found in 

 their tops. A lot Siberian Crab- apple trees, those 

 pruned up 9 inches high,^ average nine inches in 

 eircumference ; those pruned up T5 inches high av- 

 erf cese-von rnches, and those pruned up Sc inches 

 high average 5| inches, and even a greater differ- 

 ence rs fo^und in their tops. The low pruued trees 

 have bore fruit, while the high prurred trees have 

 not bloomed. Also, a-s much difference rs found 

 %T\ jmining-m-trees when transplan^ting them. 



We reset the same Spring some Yellow Bell- 

 ffower, two of them were shorteoed-in when reset,, 

 one of these died' tlie first season^ and the other is 

 nearly dead, while the balance are dt>if*g well. We 

 reset some AYinter Pearma»ins, one was prun®d-in 

 which is nearly dead, the others are fine aadhealthy. 

 We also^ reset about 200! trees of different varieties,, 

 pruned-in at the time a number, these are nearly 

 all dead or very much diseased, while those not 

 pruned-in are all living and doing well except three, 

 which were otherwise injured. Th«.se trees we took 

 up, handled, transpjasiited, and h*ave attended to 

 them ourselves, and we know they received the 

 same care and attentiofi. 



Havi-ng no-w considered the subject under various 

 heads, both in theory andi practice;, we shall now 

 endeavor to examine the popufer system of prwning 

 as recommei^ded by some of our mfost able herticul- 

 turists, and in doingso^we ask your patient attentions 



In our im'estigatioti of the subject, we frnd no 

 author more concise and' explicit thai^ our western 

 friend, Dr. J. A. Warder, of Ohio-, in- his essay ora 

 the " Philosophy of Pniwrng-'' read before this so- 

 fc'iet}^ June 5th, and published in the August num- 

 ber of the Gardener s MontMy\ 1866. 



With due respect to our worthy friend, we shalT 

 take the liberty to confine our remarks more partic- 

 ularly to his article, as it embodies the substance of 

 the present phiros0ph)\ 



The Doctor has ably set forth the principles o^f 

 pruning as generally believed and practiced by hor- 

 ticulturists, and has to some extent reviewed the 

 opinions of others, but the most remarkable and in- 



teresting portion of his article is his candid acimis- 

 sions of Nature. 



He says he is going to give us "A simple state- 

 ment of the facts as they have appeared to me, and 

 as they may be read by any of you in the great 

 book of nature, is all that will be attempted." 



Now hear what the Dr. has found in the book of 

 nature. He says : "It may be said, that in the 

 natural trees, whether standing? alone in the midst 

 of a prairie, thickly grouped as in the oak opening, 

 or crowded together in the dense forest, we may be- 

 hold the most perfect models of beauty and of fruit- 

 fulness ; j^et these have never been subjected to the 

 action of the knife, the saw or the hatchet. True, 

 and yet they have all been pruned by Nature; she 

 prunes and trains magnificently, and gives us the 

 finest models for imitation." "In the single spe- 

 cimens free access of air and light have enabled it 

 to assume its full proportions, developing itself on 

 every side, and giving us the grand, majestic, and 

 beautiful objects we behold with so much pleasure." 



Now if the Dr had stopped after making these 

 candid admissions, we would have nothing further 

 to say upon this subject, for true nature gives us 

 not only the most perfect models of beauty and 

 fruitfulness ; but she prunes and trains magnifi- 

 cently^ and gives the finest models for imitation. 

 Yes, my dear hearer, free access of air and light 

 have enabled them to assume theirfull proportions, 

 and developed all their parts in such harmony, 

 without the pruning-Jmife^ that we behold their 

 grandeur, majesty and beauty, with pleasure and 

 admiration. 



If we must go to Nature to seek for examples of 

 beauty and perfection as models for imitation, then 

 she surpasses the art of man, and we should hum- 

 bly bow and submit to her superiority, and not en- 

 deavor to rob her of the glory she so justly meiits. 



Where does nature ever cut back a 3'oung tree to 

 make it graw sfoch/, to form the head at the proper 

 place, or give it vigor f 



We ask again, where in the Book of Nature are 

 we taught this doctrine or the postulate to ' 'prune in 

 winter for wood, in summer for fruit?" It may be 

 said she teaches it every where. Is it not sanctioned 

 by custom and made sacred by time ? Do not the 

 best talent and most practical approve of it ? Who 

 is the person that dare assail it? Has it not mon- 

 uments erected in honor of its fame all over the 

 land ? Step to j^our nearest neighbor, and behold 

 its beauty, sublimity and certainty f Go but to your 

 own sacred spot, the garden, and watch its opera- 

 tions : see how quickly and finely it has trained yon- 

 der tree ; do you not see its beauty and symmetry? 



