The Care Of Trees In Lawn, Street And Park - With A List Of Trees And Shrubs For Decorative Use (1910) (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: system is killed by winter cold has been discussed on page 67, where injuries by frost are described. Pruning for Form. The removal of dead and broken branches and the smoothing and proper dressing of badly made wounds is, of course, the first concern of the pruner. The removal of green branches has usually for its object the regulation of the form, in order to favor invigoration, or new formation in other parts. Every branch or twig cut produces a change in the development of other branches or twigs, because these now enjoy different light, food, and water- supply. The skilful pruner keeps in mind, therefore, what new development will be induced by cutting away branches, and cuts accordingly, either to strengthen a weaker member by removal of a stronger, or to help a stronger one by subduing superfluous feeders, favoring either the leaders by the removal of side branches, or inducing the spread and compacting of the crown by heading back the leaders. And, in pruning for form, he keeps in mind that the heading in of young shoots tends to develop dormant buds; that the tendency of most species is to develop the uppermost buds rather than those at the base of the shoot; that heavy pruning at the top tends to invigorate and produce better development of the lower portions, and vice versa. Of superfluous parts to be removed are the water-sprouts or suckers, for, as their very name indicates, they are robbing other branches of food materials. Water-sprouts are branchlets, arising from adventitious buds out of regularorder, along the trunk and branches, whenever the equilibrium in feeding conditions is disturbed and has to be adjusted, as, for instance, when the tree has been heavily pruned, or when soil or light conditions have been changed. Although they are not necessarily a de...