FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
103 
after cooling slig'litly, add slowly six 
ounces of alcohol and one ounce spirits of 
•turpentine. 
Shellac likewise cracks and drops off; 
tar is likely to prevent the healing process. 
Of all the substances which have been 
used from, time tO' time no material so 
nearly fills all the requirements of a 
wound dressing as pure lead paint made 
up with good oil. Sufficient coloring 
should be addled to make the paint about 
the color of the bark. 
Paint the wound as soon as it is made 
for no amount of paint will keep the 
wound sound if rotting has already be¬ 
gun. 
TIME TO PRUNE. 
It is not advisable to prune trees during 
the time when the sap is in active motion. 
At this time it is well nigh impossible 
to properly protect the woundj; the neces¬ 
sary coat of paint will not stick to a sur¬ 
face wet with sap, which has bled fromi 
the tree. The best time to prune is during 
winter and early spring before growth 
starts. If it cannot be done then, the trees 
should be pruned in spring just after they 
are well out in the leaf. 
PRUNING TOOLS. 
Some people like to use an ax, but in 
the hands of the average individual it is 
a poor tool tO' use. About one man in 
five hundred knows, how tO' handle it. It 
should be banished from the orchard and 
the street. In the writer’s opinion the 
only time that the ax should be used either 
on a fruit or shade tree is when it is 
vigorously applied just above the roots, 
when it is dleemed advisable to remove a 
diseased or worthless specimen. The ax 
is synonymous with hacks, cuts, stubs, 
knotholes, rotten trunks, decayed trees 
and general neglect. It is opposed to good 
treatment, intelligent care and a true ap¬ 
preciation of the needs and nature of a 
tree. Banish it! 
Get a good pair of pruning shears, a 
pruning saw and knife. The dearest in 
price are the cheapest. Keep them sharp 
and with these the right sort of work 
can be done. 
DISCUSSION. 
Mr. Neeldi—I think the best time to 
prune a tree is after the sap has fallen and 
the leaves have fallen. I would like to 
have your idea. In connection with this 
subject, I would like to say that our trees 
lost their leaves in the freeze, and when 
the leaves came forth again they were 
little bits of leaves—they never developed. 
That was largely because there was no 
moisture in the soil. There were a great 
many water sprouts, and they put on large 
leaves. 
Prof. ‘Hume—In reply to the first ques¬ 
tion as to the best time of pruning: an old 
German adage says, “Prune apple trees 
while in the bloom.” One of the best sea¬ 
sons is after the tree comes out in full leaf^ 
speaking of treeis that drop their leaves 
in autumn. I dO' not believe in pruning 
when the sap is moving in the trees, when 
the wound is likely to^ bleed freely. If 
we prune it at that time, we cannot get 
oiir covering to stick. Wait until the tree 
comes out in full leaf. Either then or 
prune when the tree is entirely dormant. 
One of the thing's that makes spring 
pruning the best, particularly if you are 
desirous of removing dlead wood, is that 
dead wood is much more easily found. 
