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Show 6tudy the Structure of the Tree Before Undertaking to Prune It. maple near your home and look upon It as a $100 endowment policy, maturing In 1940, with no premiums after the first year." If five elm trees are worth $25 at the end of ten years, for the return of shade and attractiveness only, what would be the value of five good bearing bear-ing walnut trees. There is no tree more handsome or suitable for planting plant-ing if only shade and attractiveness is wanted. We think all practical, nnd really right-minded farmers agree that shade trees beautify and enhance the value of farm property, and the wonder Is that any farmer will neglect to plant trees about his home. Of course, they require some little attention atten-tion for a while at least, and later on they must be pruned and cared for if the best results are to be had from this form of investment. It would be the height of folly to take the trouble of planting trees, and then consider that the work is ended forever on that tree. To obtain symmetrical, handsome trees, they must be pruned. There is a right and a wrong way of pruning shade trees. Topping should preferably be done after the leaves drop in the fall and before the buds swell in the spring but it is safe to do the work at other seasons. Why We Prune Trees. To remove dead wood. The reason for removing dead wood is obvious. It is in the way. It breeds disease; it Is unsightly and dangerous. The way to do it is to cut it out, removing all dead or decayed portion. Smooth off the surface so that water will not gather. If a cavity remains, paint It with a lead paint to keep out fungous and Insect pests, then fill the hole with a material that will keep out the moisture mois-ture and squirrels and upon which a new bark hiay find support to grow. To remove crowding branches. Branches that rub against and bruise one another when the wind blows should be taken out as soon as possible. pos-sible. The branch should be cut off clean, close to the main stem with a slanting cut so that water will drain off. Then coat with a tar or lead paint to keep off water and Insects which bore Into and lay eggs In green wood. To Increase flowers and fruit. In order to understand this we must be able to distinguish between leaf and flower buds. The flower bnds are usually usu-ally larger and of different shape from leaf buds. By removing limbs or twigs which contain only leaf buds we will accomplish our purpose. The cut must be made clean and smooth and If a large surface of heart wood is left exposed ex-posed it should be painted. In removing remov-ing such limbs care must be taken not to destroy the natural symmetry and shape of the specimen. This naturally natural-ly symmetrical shape Is precise and fairly regular In Its occurrence due to a tj'pe structure explained later. To remove unbalanced parts. It is a common practice to prune in order to thicken the head, strengthen the specimen, and create a more dense shade. This Is the question that most interests us In the general shaping and care of ornamental trees. We want to know how to "top" our soft maples, and whether or not we should top the elm at the same time. Tree Structure. To understand topping we must study tree structure. Trees are either opposite or alternate leaved. In -the opposite-leaved trees the terminal ter-minal bud develops a new stem. The side buds develop also and each in turn develops a terminal bud and side buds. This kind of a tree forms naturally nat-urally a "leader" or stem that grows straight from the ground to the top of the tree and the limbs unless accidentally accident-ally Injured tend to develop symmetrically symmetric-ally about It e. g., the maple.' When you top such a tree or in other oth-er words remove the terminal bud, you give more strength to the side buds. They develop more abundantly, abundant-ly, thickening the tree and reducing its spindly length, until it becomes a stronger and a denser shade tree. Such a tree should be topped before it gets so old that the cut will not heal over, and the cut place must be made smooth and waterproof. On the other hand the alternate-leaved trees tend to send a branch first to one side and then to the other side e. g., the elm. Until the tree grows out of reach of our hand and strength we can keep It bent straight or the one-side bud removed so that it will tend to send up a straight stem. But as soon as It gets beyond our reach the Identity of the trunk Is lost in the branches and one may not as a rule trace the main trunk clear to the top of the tree. If such a tree is topped from time to time we may easily leave the last bud always on the same side of the stem and a tree will grow all to one side. Beyond this we must consider the natural strength of a tree. There is no object in trimming or topping a strong hardwood tree such as an oak or a sugar maple that ordinarily would not be broken In the wind. Such a tree Is naturally adapted to self-formation and unless Injured by some external ex-ternal cause will take care of Itself. There are two other things we must know about trees. First, certain varieties va-rieties or species will never make good ornamental shade trees and should not be used. Many are poor because they are too open ; buds too far apart on the stem and branches come out at long Intervals.' Other trees are objectionable objec-tionable because of the bad odor of their flowers, brittle twigs, dropping leaves, shedding of bark, or short life. Secondly, the method of branching or the angle of branching with the trunk affects its form. The Six Forms. There are six forms into which trees may be grouped. a. Vase form elm. b. Round-topped maple. c. Boxiform hickory. d. Coniform spruce or p'.ne. e. Pyramidal Lombardy poplar. f. Grotesque artifi' ially propagated trees like the umbrella catalpa or Tea's weeping mulberry. (a). Vase form. In a vase form tree the branches bend up, then out and down the trunk forming the stem. Topping this tree will make it dished on top and weaken its structure. It cannot grow together again and a "fatal "fa-tal crotch" is formed In the branches. (b) . Round-topped. The branches of round-topped trees grow out and then bend up and inward, forming a globular top. Cutting off the tips of such branches thickens the top and strengthens the growth. (c) . Boxiform. Trees that are included in-cluded in the boxiform group also branch squarely or at right angles to the trunk and the top branches extend ex-tend to approximately the same length as the lower ones. (d) . Coniform. Branches of trees in the coniform group form a right angle with the trunk. The lower limbs are wide and the others shorter as they approach the top of the tree until the tree tapers down to a point. (e) . Pyramidal. The Lombardy poplar and others of the pyramidal type have limbs that tend to grow straight upwards, parallel to the trunk. (f) . Grotesque trees. Trees of the grotesque class are of odd and unusual un-usual character. They are either too irregular or too formal to be adapted to naturalistic planting and usually branch too low to allow traffic underneath. under-neath. It would be safe then to say that softwood trees like Cottonwood, box elder, soft maple, and catalpa need topping. Locusts, sycamores, and hickories hick-ories need to have dead wood removed before It falls. Other trees need to be shaped or headed up and given a fair start In life when they are 12 to 20 feet high. If this Is done they will thereafter take care of theinselve.i unless artificially or accidentally injured. in-jured. What Trees Shall I Plant? Trees adapted to shade on lawn ami street must have the following characteristics: char-acteristics: .,. : 1. Tall and wide spreading. 2. Straight trunk and well balanced top. 8. Long life and durability of wood. 4. Strength of limb and freedom from Insect and fungous pests. 5. Deep root system. 6. No litter of leaf, flower, fruit or bark. 7. Branching high enough from ground to permit traffic underneath. 8. Easy to transplant and affording dense shade. Try the following hpre stated In the order of their preference: 1. American elm. 2. Sugar maple. ma-ple. 3. Uackberry. 4. Sweet gum. 5. American and European lindens. 6. Pin and Laurel oaks. 7. 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