184 SUBURBAN GARDENS 
place for fungus to lodge or decay to enter. 
Then cut away a little bit more, proportion- 
ately, at the top, taking care to preserve the 
character of the plant always, whether much 
or little is taken off. Branches cannot be 
snipped off here and there regardless of every- 
thing except getting rid of them, but selective 
pruning must reduce the plant everywhere 
equally. Usually it is possible simply to cut 
all branches back the requisite amount, but in 
the case of trees which progress distinctly by 
means of a leader — .as the Lombardy poplar 
and the Maidenhair tree or Gingko — the 
leader should not be cut. If it is, the tree’s 
character is destroyed, even though it makes 
the noblest efforts to overcome the injury — for 
the ideal long, straight bole, uninterrupted 
from earth to tip, is impossible to restore once 
it has been tampered with. 
Occasionally an entire branch will need to be 
removed, although nursery grown trees that 
have been well cared for will seldom show such 
superfluous growth. Where two branches rise 
from the trunk at the same level, one must al- 
ways come out — and sometimes this result of 
gross negligence is found, even in nursery stock, 
for there are many nurseries unfortunately 
where lax methods prevail. Two such branches 
