300 TlMEHRl. 
month when it should be inspected, and all suckers that 
have developed in the meantime must be taken off. 
Usually they are so soft and green that their removal is 
easily effected by a rubbing motion of the forefinger and 
thumb, and this is known by the technical term of 
' handling.' The various pruning operations may be 
summed up in the following few words : — The tree is not 
to be allowed to grow more than five feet and a half 
high, a clear circular space of about sixteen inches in 
diameter is to be preserved in the centre of the tree — 
this space being intersected by the naked bases of the 
primary branches only. And, in regard to the secondary 
lateral branches, no more than two are to be allowed to 
develop from any node of the primary, these two branches 
taking the place of the pair of leaves in the axils of 
which they were budded forth. 
The clear space which is to surround the main stem is 
most useful in allowing a free circulation of air, and in 
permitting the sun to reach the roots, thereby equalising 
temperature, preventing stagnant moisture, and doing 
much to hinder the growth of mosses, and other parasitic 
or epiphytic plants, on the trunk and the principal 
branches. 
None but the more intelligent labourers should be 
permitted to ' top,' prune or ' handle ' the trees ; their 
tools, too, should be kept in good order, for a blunt 
knife or saw will cause delay and give rise to bad work. 
One man can easily prune a hundred trees a day if they 
are not neglected, but if the trees have been allowed to 
grow unrestrained for a long time, then to prune forty or 
fifty is a fair day's work. 
As 1 have already remarked, if forest land be cleared 
