Though timely and judicious pruning should never be neglected, yet the annual trimming to which many of the town trees and shrubs are subjected cannot be too strongly denounced. To annually prune and elbow in such noble forest trees as the Lime and Plane, in order that the restricted growth may render them suitable for the cramped positions in which they have been unwisely planted, is unreasonable. The Lime and Plane perhaps suffer most in this way, for as soon as they have overgrown the allotted space an annual system of hacking and hewing is resorted to, the result being the formation of great mop-headed protuberances at the points where amputation took place, which not only rob the tree of its natural appearance, but render it readily susceptible to disease and insect pests. Glaring examples of badly pruned trees may be seen at Kensington, on the Chiswick Road, at Westminster, Cricklewood, and along many of our streets, and in our public parks and gardens. There is, too, certainly just cause for the numerous complaints which have recently been made regarding the pruning of trees in Grove Park and other of the London districts. But much of this mismanagement is directly attributable to the fact that originally the trees were planted too close together and in much too confined spaces.

At Grove Park, which, by the by, is a street 30 ft. wide, situated not far from Denmark Hill, the trees have been planted within 9 ft., in some instances 6 ft., of the trees in the adjoining gardens, the result being that in not a few cases the street trees are overhung by the branches of those in the private grounds alongside. We particularly noticed a Plane tree that had been planted within 6 ft. of a noble specimen of the Acacia which was fully 50ft. high, the branches of which extended 12 ft. beyond the stem of the street tree. In Grove Park all the Planes have been cut back to a uniform height of about 15 ft., and, to say the least of it, the work has been carried out in a way that cannot be commended, the points at which pruning took place being in many instances rough, jagged, and un-painted. Where amputation of a branch takes place, the wound should in all cases be smoothly dressed over and tarred or painted to prevent the ingress of water and consequent decay. Around Camberwell Green, too, the trees have been sadly mismanaged in the matter of pruning, nearly a hundred of these presenting the appearance of mop heads of the most hideous and unnatural description. In this case the trees have been reduced to a uniform height of about 16 ft., and, as pruning has taken place annually at the same points, the many mop-headed protuberances so formed have a most objectionable appearance. But this is only one case out of many that could be cited of trees suffering irreparable damage, and presenting an ugly and most unnatural appearance, by ill advised pruning which, in not a few instances, is little short of tree-murder and vandalism.

Some excuse might be offered for planting our largest-growing forest trees in cramped and unsuitable positions were there no other species of smaller growth available; but the various kinds of Pyrus, Mulberry, Catalpa, Dwarf Acacias, Sumach, Prunus, Cratcegus, and others are all well suited for town planting. Where ample space is available - such as on the Thames Embankment and other wide promenades and streets, or where interlacing of the branches is not a serious drawback - by all means let the larger-growing trees be planted; but where the streets are narrow and necessity compels planting within a few yards of buildings, the smaller-growing species are preferable. Numerous instances could be pointed out, as at Gray's Inn Road and Shaftesbury Avenue, in which Plane trees have been planted within 9 or 10ft. of houses and other buildings, the result being that in a few years heavy pruning becomes a necessity, the natural beauty of the trees is destroyed, and, worse still, a repetition of the trimming must be carried out at frequent periods.

A point, of the greatest importance in town planting, is suiting the trees to the positions they are to occupy. The Lime is perhaps one of the most cruelly treated of all suburban London trees; for the lopping and beheading to which it is annually subjected, and which it tries bravely to support, strikes every lover of the natural with feelings of regret and shame that so beautiful and noble a tree should be so tortured and disfigured. For the first ten years after being planted in its restricted space, it looks everything that could be desired, but when the confined boundary limit is attained - the windows darkened, the patch of garden rendered useless by the overhanging branches, and the pedestrian on the footpath annoyed - then comes the retribution, and, the saw and the pruning knife being brought into request, the stalwart, beautiful sapling is elbowed in; it becomes mop-headed, or contorted into some other unnatural or ungraceful shape.

By planting at the first such moderate-sized trees as the Robiniu vis-cosa, the Mulberry, Mountain Ash, and Beam Tree, Indian Bean (Catalpa), or the beautiful flowering Almonds, Cherries and Thorns, all this would be avoided. The Plane tree, too, is badly managed in many of the London thoroughfares, and when, through indiscriminate planting, pruning of the branches has to be resorted to, this operation is usually performed in the most slovenly and unscientific manner, and has in not a few instances led to a diseased and unhealthy state of the trees operated upon. There are cases, however, where pruning is justifiable, and the abuse of a system should furnish no argument against its legitimate use. In the public parks and gardens the removal of weighty branches from such trees as the Elm and Poplar, that frequently break during still warm weather and endanger the lives of visitors, is not only admissible, but a duty that should never be neglected by those in charge. This also applies with equal force to diseased and hollow branches and stems, which are fraught with danger to the public. As to whether or not dead wood should be removed in quantity from our old Oaks and other trees, there is a diversity of opinion, though it cannot be denied that the careful pruning of such is highly beneficial whether from the point of the health of the trees or safety of the public, who may frequent their shade. It is certain that in some of our town parks and gardens there exists an undue quantity of dead and dying wood which may be attributed to natural decay, the poor quality of the soil in which the trees are growing, or to long-standing neglect in the matter of non-attention to wounds which have been caused by wind-broken limbs and branches or other injuries.

Such trees would be greatly improved, both in health and appearance, by the removal of the dead branches and attention being paid to old wounds in order to prevent the ingress of water, the decay and death of not a few trees being directly attributable to this cause. That dead and dying wood will induce the attacks of injurious insect pests, such as the goat and wood leopard moth, which also attack healthy trees, is well known, and was exemplified in some of our London parks lately where Thorns and various species of Pyrus were attacked and injured by the caterpillar of the leopard moth, which was bred in the adjoining old Chestnut trees. The latter part of May or beginning of June is perhaps the best season for pruning the majority of hard-wooded trees, as during that time the motion of the sap is most vigorous, and, in consequence, the wounds caused by amputation heal quickest. There are a few exceptions - the Birch, Maple, and Sycamore - where, on account of profuse bleeding, pruning is best postponed till after the leaves have developed. In cutting or shortening small branches a sharp pocket-knife will be found most convenient; but, when large and weighty limbs have to be removed, they should first be cut through at any convenient distance from the main stem and then close to the trunk. Undercutting by a few draughts of the saw in order to prevent the bark and wood from tearing when the severed branch falls away is to be recommended. In order to prevent water lodging on the freshly cut surface, the face and edge of each wound should be neatly dressed and made quite smooth by a sharp knife or adze and then painted or tarred over. When cutting over an upright growing branch never cut on the horizontal, but always in a sloping direction, so that the rain may pass off quickly. Much mischief has been done by the pruning knife and saw in the hands of inexperienced workmen - a fact that will be patent to every interested person who watches the operation as being carried out by the workmen of some of the city and suburban councils. When conducted with care, on sound principles, the effect of pruning on standard trees should be rather beneficial than otherwise, whereas when done by inexperienced workmen the operation has disastrous results.

Generally speaking, shrubs are pruned with little or no consideration as to whether they will be benefited by the operation. While symmetry and regularity of outline are to be admired in a shrub, these qualities should never be gained at the expense of natural grace and production of flowers. The judicious pruner will, therefore, aim at preserving the peculiar habit of each shrub as far as possible, while interfering but little with the production of flowers. The various species of Deutzia, Forsythia, Philadelphus, and Weigela flower on the wood of the preceding year's growth; therefore such shrubs should be pruned immediately after the flowering season - say in June, but never in spring or winter - at least, if the production of flowers is to be taken into account. Again, the various species of Syringa, Spircea, Loni-cera, and Hibiscus may safely be pruned during winter, the flowers being produced on the young wood; while Hydrangea paniculata grandiflora must be severely pruned in early spring, for only by so doing will the greatest wealth of flowers be produced. Chimonanthus fragrans should be pruned in February; while the various species of Ceanothus should not be touched till all danger of frost is past. Kerria japonica should be pruned in autumn, when old wood may be cut away.

All pruning operations should be carefully carried out with a sharp knife and not with the pruning shears, the point of amputation being always close to an eye or bud. Too severe pruning should be avoided, a judicious thinning out of the branches being far preferable to indiscriminate shearing and cutting back.