en or half or quite dead,
but whatever state it is in the free circulation of the sap will be
checked, and the quantity of sap in circulation for the benefit of the
main branch will be lessened.

The time for pruning trees is obviously of great importance. Our present
practice is to prune as soon after the crop as possible, and no doubt this
follows the rule as regards all fruit tree culture, which is, that the
trees, from the time of blossoming till up to the picking of the crop,
should not be interfered with. But pruning at that time causes the tree to
throw out much young wood which in the beginning of the monsoon is in an
immature state, and, as Mr. Ward has pointed out (_vide_ p. 389), this
succulent foliage is a good breeding ground for leaf disease. Mr. Brooke
Mockett, too (_vide_ p. 401), has pointed out that leaf disease is worst
in the case of trees which have been heavily pruned, and obviously because
the heavier the pruning the greater the supply of succulent foliage. Such
succulent foliage, too, is liable to be rotted away in the drenching rains
of the south-west monsoon. So that, taking all the points into
consideration, it is obvious that pruning should be so managed as to
increase mature foliage, and, as much as possible, limit the amount of
succulent foliage, at the beginning of the monsoon. How this object is to
be attained it is difficult to see, but we can certainly do something
towards attaining it by very light pruning; and I would suggest here that
planters should make experiments both in pruning and manuring, with the
view of growing the young wood earlier in the season. And I would suggest
that planters might set aside say an acre, and leave the trees untouched
at the usual pruning season, and confine their pruning to removing useless
wood at the end of the monsoon. This, I surmise, would have the effect of
throwing out new wood then, which would be mature at the beginning of the
monsoon. Such experimental plots should not be manured after crop, but
should be manured immediately after the monsoon. It certainly seems to me
that, if we could both manure and prune at the end of the monsoon, we
should attain, as far as it can be attained, the production of mature wood
and leaves at the beginning of the monsoon.

Some planters, when pruning, remove moss and rub down the trees at the
same time, but this, I am sure, can be done more cheaply and effectually
as a separate work.

The removal of moss and