Now comes the question, Shall we take off a few or many branches or limbs, or leave all those which are not injured 1 In Paris, of late, a system has been eagerly advocated, which was founded on the theory, that many branches and leaves call for a greater amount of sap, and make, as they termed it, a demand on the roots, prompting these to display more activity, and, of course, shooting out more fibres. But as we can never take up a tree of much size without disturbing the roots, and as we have to suppress some injured or useless ones, the economy between the roots and upper limbs is disturbed, and the tree suffers. I have seen those trees taken up in the Jardin du Luxembourg, Jardin des Plantes, and elsewhere, and they showed for a long time afterwards, signs of weakness and dying limbs, the result of that disturbance in their general organism. If it is not safe to cut away thick stout limbs in the process of transplanting, it is a worse policy to leave all those limbs, which, by the suppression, of corresponding roots, cannot get their supply of sap; and, as there cannot be a stop in Nature's laws and in the natural process of vegetation, sickness and atrophy are the result of that rather overrated system.

I have always found a good result in moderate pruning of limbs, and, of course, in a more restrained and equal distribution of the sap than in no pruning at all. A planted tree must start readily, handsomely, or it is a lost tree; for, years afterwards, the principium morbidum, the hidden death-stroke will come up and show itself outside.

If I have to remove a stout limb, destroying the harmony of a fine tree, I cut it some inches from its base so as not to make a large wound immediately on the main body; next year it will be time enough, and just the proper time, to cut it close, the tree having regained all its strength and its healing power.

And as to the practice of watering the planted tree, or, as it is termed, to puddle it, this will answer well enough in silicious soil, but in clay or any stiff soil, it will result in casting the roots as in a mould of baked earth, which, if copious rains do not come in time, will prevent the shooting out (or formation) of the delicate fibres or rootlets. I do not often recur to this method, unless I have to plant in very wet soil, and in a hurry; for then it is better to have a thorough puddle than lumps that will not fill up the interstices.

It is good, also, to cover the foot of the planted trees with any kind of brush, leaves, withered herbs, decayed straw, or even stable manure, if not rich nor fresh; for, I do not like fresh manure near the newly-planted tree. This ought to be done after a good copious shower has settled the roots, and immediately before the heavy frost sets in. If you do it too early, you often make a good recess and wintering place for bugs, worms, mice, Ac, which will creep and flock together under this protection. If you have no leaves, or salt hay at hand, cover with stones, and let these remain on the foot of the tree all the next spring and summer. Old planted trees can be mulched with good manure at the same time, say late in October, or beginning of November, even after the first slight frost; the manure ought to be placed in a circle at least half a foot from the body of the tree, where it does no good, rather producing injury; and extending in a radius of three feet circular. Let us always mind that the tree does not take up its food close to its body, but far, far off, with its spongioles or small roots, its natural suckers; a thick root is of no use save as a pipe or channel to receive the nutritious sap brought from the extremities.

Never plant too deep; more trees are killed by that old erroneous process than by any other cause. Nature will show you what you have to do. Let the bark remain bark; if you force it below the surface, you will make it to go over to root bark, entirely different from the upper bark, which is at least a tedious, if not a dangerous process. Allow something in freshly made holes for the settling or sinking of the tree; if the roots remain covered the first year by a protection of a slight mound, brush, or stones, you can hardly plant too shallow.

In making your holes, kill every worm, bug, and, in general, every insect that you find; after a year's growth, soap-suds thrown occasionally on the foot of the tree in winter or early spring, will destroy all those insects which hare gathered beneath the mulch, or around the trees where insects generally creep for protection, even if not mulched.

Although stone-fruit trees, plums, peaches, apricots, Ac., might be planted successfully in the fall, I find it better to plant these as early in spring as the soil will allow. Holes made for them before winter will afford dry earth enough on their edge (in one heap, for the soil must never be scattered around, and sods separated from loose soil) to allow of early planting. The hole being frozen is better than it was in the fall, and the sods, with which the hole (as said before) is at least half filled, will be all reduced; harmless to the roots because all fermentation is gone, and affording a good supply of food through the summer. If you have no convenient soil nor time, get pure sand and plant your tree in it, just enough to surround the roots; the spongioles will find more easily their way through that light porous medium, and get all their proper food in the richer soil in due time; for peach-trees, especially, I always succeeded best in loamy soils, by planting the tree in five or six spadesful of yellow or fine ordinary gravel. They start without stopping to look out for a proper supply, which cannot readily be found in clay soils, and they never show gum and disease as peach-trees bo often do the first year when planted in too rich or clayey soils.

As a general rule, in rich soils, the more sand you bring around the peach or plum-tree the better it is.

These remarks, Mr. Editor, have taken more room than I expected at first. If you want my opinion, and those of the best authors, combined, in regard to pruning properly, for an established tree, I shall try to compress those remarks in a narrower space.

[The above is sensible and to the point; the author has had much experience, and his observations, at home and abroad, evince a clear understanding of his subject. We shall be pleased to receive his remarks on pruning at his earliest convenience.-. - Ed. ]

Planting And Pruning #1

A most complete and conclusive article from the pen of an accomplished master. It needs not a word of comment, only to urge its diligent reading upon every tree planter once a month throughout the entire planting, pruning, and growing seasons. I hope we shall have further lessons from so instructive a teacher.