hether it be for the purpose of
perfecting the form in shade trees, or for increasing the production
of fruit in orchard trees, should be confined to certain seasons.
Shade and ornamental trees can best be pruned in the fall, while the
leaves are still on the tree and while the tree itself is in
practically a dormant state.

Proper cutting: All pruning should be commenced at the top of the tree
and finished at the bottom. A shortened branch (excepting in poplars
and willows, which should be cut in closely) should terminate in
small twigs which may draw the sap to the freshly cut wound; where a
branch is removed entirely, the cut should be made-close and even
with the trunk, as in Fig. 113. Wherever there is a stub left after
cutting off a branch, the growing tissue of the tree cannot cover it
and the stub eventually decays, falls out and leaves a hole (see
Fig. 114), which serves to carry disease and insects to the heart of
the tree. This idea of close cutting cannot be over-emphasized.

Where large branches have to be removed, the splitting and ripping
of the bark along the trunk is prevented by making one cut beneath
the branch, about a foot or two away from the trunk, and then
another above, close to the trunk.

[Illustration: FIG. 113.--Branches Properly Cut Close to the Trunk.]

Too severe pruning: In pruning trees, many people have a tendency to cut
them back so severely as to remove everything but the bare trunk and
a few of the main branches. This process is known as "heading
back." It is a method, however, which should not be resorted to
except in trees that are very old and failing, and even there only
with certain species, like the silver maple, sycamore, linden and
elm. Trees like the sugar maple will not stand this treatment at
all. The willow is a tree that will stand the process very readily
and the Carolina poplar must be cut back every few years, in order
to keep its crown from becoming too tall, scraggy and unsafe.

[Illustration: FIG. 114.--A Limb Improperly Cut. Note how the stub is
decaying and the resulting cavity is becoming diseased.]

Covering wounds: The importance of immediately covering all wounds with
coal tar cannot be overstated. If the wound is not tarred, the
exposed wood cracks, as in Fig. 115, providing suitable quarters for
disease germs that will eventually des