PRUNING. 



171 



the pruning already recommended, the branches for- 

 merly foreshortened should be cut off at the lower 

 part of the stem ; leaving it bare, at first, not above 

 one-sixth, or at most one-fifth, the height of the tree. 

 By the time, however, that the tree is from fifteen to 

 twenty feet high, it may have a clear stem of one- 

 third its height, and varying from one-third to one-half 

 when the tree has attained a stature of thirty feet. 

 These remarks are not meant to apply in all cases, in 

 the park and pleasure-grounds, where the natural ap- 

 pearance of many trees would be spoiled by the re- 

 moval of branches from their trunks for more than ten 

 or fifteen feet. Some trees, however, are improved' by 

 the partial thinning and shortening of the branches to 

 double that height. "When pruning should begin, and 

 how often it should be resorted to, must be left to the 

 discretion of the "roprietor, judging from the growth 

 of the trees. Some plantations will be benefited by 

 a careful examination and pruning every second year; 

 others will require attention only every fourth or 

 fifth year. Some excellent foresters condemn the peri- 

 odical pruning of woods. Our own experience is, that 

 it is advantageous to examine the trees in the park 

 every second or third year ; of course, pruning only 

 those trees that req uire it, and cutting back the branches 

 of the nurses which are pressing on the principals. 

 We agree with Mr. Brown, in his useful work, " The 

 Forester," that pruning should precede thinning by at 

 least one year. When both operations go on together, 

 the growth of the young trees is apt to be checked by 

 their sudden exposure to the colder atmosphere, con- 

 sequent on the decrease of shelter. Fir-trees should 

 be planted so thickly as to prune themselves, the dead 



