TilP] COTTAGP] GAllDENEB,. 
I'EBHUARy 1:3. 
;3D2 
is, therefore, a safe practice to prune no trees after 
January. All winter-pruning ougiit to he finished by 
that time, with the above exceptions. In our variable 
climate the rising of the sap is sometimes much earlier 
in one season than another, and, in such an early season, 
if the pruning has been delayed, it ouglit not to he done 
till the following season. P’or all trees that are deciduous, 
I am decidedly in favour of autumn and winter-pruning. 
I never found any injurious ell'ects from pruning at that 
season, providing it was finished early. Tlie primer 
will soon perceive if it is too late by the sap flowing out 
of the wounds; whenever that is observed, he ought to 
cry, “ Hold, it is enough ; this business must stop.” Sum¬ 
mer-pruning, when the trees are in full growth, may bo 
done, if not performed in winter ; but the operator must | 
remember that there arc two kinds of sap, the ascending 
and the descending. The first carries up nutriment to 
support and push forth the buds and leaves, the surjdus 
is evaporated through the pores of the leaves. Tlie 
descending sap is elaborated by the atmosphere taking 
in carbonic acid gas through the pores of the leaves. 
By that elaboration the descending sap is furnished 
with a substance named cambium, which, as it descends, 
is converted into wdiat is called sap wood. Now, if any | 
great quantity of leaves are cut off, or pruned away with | 
the branches, it is evident the deposition of the cambium, - 
or formation of woody fibre, will be less, in exact pro¬ 
portion to the loss of leaves caused by pruning when 
the tree is furnished with those wonderful organs—the j 
leaves. Yet, to a certain extent, priming may be per- ; 
formed in summer, and the descending sap directed into j 
channels where the formation, or deposit, of wood is the , 
most required; but only small branches should be cut i 
off at that season, and those in very moderate quantities 
at once. In such a case as our correspondent “P. B.,” J. i 
would recommend a very gradual pruning, partly for 
the above reasons, and partly because the severe pruning ^ 
of trees twenty years old would so check their growth, | 
by diminishing the How of descending sap, and, also, i 
the pruning off too many branches will admit a too free 
circulation of air and wind. This admission of too ! 
much air suddenly is almost certain death to a plantation, * 
or, at least, a certain stagnation of growth for years to 
come. 
2. Pruning non-Besinous Trees. —By non-resinous 
trees is meant all such as do not yield resin or turpentine. 
In this country such non-resinous trees are deciduous; 
that is, lose their leaves in winter. Then, as I observed i 
before, is the best time to prune them; though, in 
extreme cases, they may be ])rimed moderately in - 
summer. Gum-yielding trees, such as the wild Cherry, , 
should, more especially, be pruned in July and August. 
The pruning of this section of trees should always be ! 
begun early ; that is, when the trees have been planted ; 
four, or, at the most, five years. The jiriming to consist 
in removing close to the stem all leaders excepting 
one ; and that should be the best-placed and most 
healthy; also, any strong side-shoots that are likely to 
rob the main stem should either bo cut off close or 
shortened in severely. Any small, twiggy shoots may 
be left on, to draw up the Scip and keep the trunk i 
sheltered. This pruning should bo repeated every 
second year. If neglected, a great quantity of growth I 
is thrown away; and the strength of the tree e.xhausted . 
only to enlarge the rubbish heap. Every side of the ! 
tree should be furnished, as nearly as ))ossible, with 
equal-sized branches. If this system is diligently 
lollowed, the tree will, when from twenty to thirty feet 
high, form a pyramid furnished with small branches to 
the ground. Then, if they stand moderately close, the j 
lowest branches will begin to die. As soon as this is 
observed, such branches should bo cut off clean and 
close to the stem. Alter that very little pruning will 
be necessary. 
It frequently happens, in large plantations, that some 
trees remain, as it were, stagnant in growth, and form no 
leading shoot. It is advisable with s'lch to head them 
down pretty close to the ground. They should bo cut 
clean off with a strong, sharp knife, without splitting 
the stem, 'J’liis heading-down should be done in Fe¬ 
bruary, just before the sap begins to rise. The tree will, 
most likely, send up several shoots. 'J'owards August 
they should be all gone over, and the shoots reduced to 
two. If only one was left, it might, from winds or 
accident, be broken off from the old stem, and thus a 
year’s growth would be lost. 'J'he following season the 
best of the two may be left, and the worst cut away : all 
danger will then be j^ast. 'J'lio after-treatment, ns to 
pruning, will be, of course, the same as that given to 
trees that have grown away freely at the first. 
o. Pruning Besinous Trees. —It is a debateable 
point whether this class of trees are benefited by prun¬ 
ing at all. From what I have experienced, 1 am de¬ 
cidedly of opinion that moderate pruning is useful. I 
go between the two extremes of never pruning at all, 
and pruning very severely. The great object of the 
pruner is so to dress his trees that they shall produce 
clean, straight timber, with as few knots as possible. 
Hence, I contend that the branches of resin-yielding 
trees should never be allowed to become large, that is, 
when intended solely for timber. (For ornamental trees 
the case is quite different.) All large branches should 
be cut off at once close to the stem. If there arc any 
small twig branches mixed with the large ones, these I 
would carefully preserve. A good writer (Sang of Kerk- 
caldy), on forest-tree pruning, observes, “ If a suHicient 
number of branches are not left on the young tree to 
produce abundance of leaves jicrfectly to concoct its 
juices, the timber will be loose in its texture and liable 
to premature decay.” Let this judicious remark be well 
weighed by the reader, and let him so prune his Firs, 
Larches, and Pines, that tliere may always be left a 
sufficient number of small branches to produce leaves 
to “ concoct their juices,” or sap, to convert it into 
sound, solid timber. I need scarcely say, that all 
branches that are dying, or dead, should be cut off at 
once, under any circumstances, close to the stem. 
4. Pruning wide masses of Forest Trees. — Under 
this head all my previous directions will apply, with the 
addition of judicious thinning, which is of more im- 
jiortance even than pruning. ]\Iany woods in Great 
Britain are planted thick, and allowed to remain so too 
long, in the mistaken ideas that the trees will shelter 
each other, grow up straighter, and, being so thick, the 
lower brandies will die, and, therefore, require no 
pruning at all for many years. It is im]iossible to cal¬ 
culate the miscliief this let-alone system of wood manage¬ 
ment has done, nay, is doing at this moment. And it 
is the more to be regretted now that trade is in many 
places so stagnant; and our workhouses filled with many 
poor men; when so much labour might be profitably 
employed in improving our wide masses of neglected 
forests and reclaiming waste lands. It may, perhaps, be 
said, what do our unemjdoycd artizans know of forest 
work ? I answer, they would soon learn, if a few practical 
woodmen were distributed among them. I never found 
a deficiency of men when work in the forest or waste 
lauds was determined to be done. If Sir Joseph Paxton 
requires a thousand or two of labourers for the Crimea, 
has he not double the number applying directly for 
the work? T. Affeery. 
{To be conlinitcd.) 
TREES, AND DUNG-HEAPS. 
One of the most important adjuncts to a cottager’s 
I garden is its fence, though this, unfortunately, is not 
