ART. VII.

On a System of pruning, or rather on a Preventive System of pruning, Forest Trees. By Mr. W. BILLINGTON, M.C.H.S., Author of Facts and Experiments on Oaks, &c. &c.

Sir,

MAY I beg the favour of you to give publicity to the following observations and remarks on the most important part of arboriculture, viz. the art of pruning forest trees, or rather, what should be termed a preventive system of pruning, in your Magazine.

Having had considerable experience in the raising of young plantations of oaks for future navies, in some of the royal forests, and having often seen the ill effects of the erroneous methods generally adopted in pruning forest trees, or, what is as bad, of its too frequent neglect, I incidentally recommended the shortening or cutting in of from one third to two thirds off the extremities of the branches of some larch trees, to give light and room to the young oaks which were nearly destroyed by the larches and other overgrowing and shading stuff. On this account I was accused, by a superior officer, and others of supposed superior skill and knowledge, of having spoiled the larches by such cutting (mind, reader, when they were in full leaf), they asserting that it would bleed them to death at the end of the season; and when it was found that they had not bled to death, but had improved greatly in health and vigour, to prove me wrong, it was as confidently asserted by the same knowing ones, that it had injured them, by drawing the sap out of the stem into the branches. Such was the knowledge or motives of a superior officer and others. Not thinking it worth while to contradict such knowing ones by stating what others said or thought about it, being convinced of its absurdity, and of their motives for opposition; and although the cutting of the side branches from the stems of trees at an early age had been recommended by a writer (Pontey) who was considered good authority, as tending to increase the timber in the trunk or stem; I set to work immediately to prove by experiments whether it tended to increase or retard the growth of the stem, and soon found the wonderful advantage it gave to the trees of whatever kind, as to vigour and increasing the bulk and handsomeness of the stem. I drew up a table of my experiments under the different modes that I tried, which clearly shows the superiority of my system, and the extremely injurious tendency of the other; this I published *, for the information of the public, in a

* Entitled A Series of Facts, Hints, Observations, and Experiments on the different Modes of raising young Plantations of Oaks for future Navies. By W. Billington, M.C.H.S., Superintendant of planting 11,000 Acres in the Forest of Dean. London, 1825. [To be reviewed in our next Number.]

book, in which the process and results are amply and clearly detailed, with a view, if possible, of stopping or checking that widely extended pernicious system of divesting young trees of their side branches.

Since the publication of that work, the public attention has been considerably excited on the mode adopted for planting the royal forests, regarding which blame has attached where it ought not, but on that subject I intend to explain at a future time; and likewise upon the after-management and pruning of the young trees, which is, above all others, of more paramount and lasting consequence, than the mere planting of the trees by any system. Having discovered and proved it by my own experiments, I disclosed to the British public the gross error of that system of pruning, by cutting off the side branches from young trees, and the vast superiority of my system of shortening, or cutting in, the branches, whereby the number of branches are increased, and their tendency to increase in thickness greatly diminished, with the quicker increase of the stem as it respects thickness, length, regular tapering, and superior quality of the timber, as I have clearly pointed out in my publication. Yet I have seen in some later publications a good deal said about my system of pruning, and an endeavour to keep what I have found out by my own actual observations and experience, and communicated to the public, and to represent what I have said and published on that subject, as being the opinions and practice of others, who are to be brought forward by and by as the first who invented, practised, and published the system, when it is probable they might have read my book, which may have strengthened and confirmed their ideas on the subject. Thus keeping me in the background, without ever mentioning what I have said on the subject, though the system, as far as it is understood, has been much extolled. Now it is clear I was the first to publish it, and give instructions to gentlemen and others how it should be performed; but more of this at some future time.

As my ideas are now more mature and confirmed on that most important part of the art termed pruning, but which I think would be better termed a preventive from pruning, I beg to offer a few more remarks on it, hoping to call the attention of every lover of woods and planter of trees to the subject; for, without that after-management, they will generally find themselves sorely disappointed in various points of view. My method I shall take the liberty, in imitation of a recent writer on planting, who appears fond of introducing new terms, to call the Billingtonian System of pruning, training, &c., a name which has been applied to it by a great lover of trees,

planting, and rural life, who much admires and appreciates the system.

The advantages to be derived from it, if properly understood and practised, being incalculable, I will not attempt to describe them, but endeavour, in as concise and clear a manner as possible, to explain the mode by which such advantages may be derived, and refer those who wish to be more minutely informed on the subject to my work, where every process to obtain such great results are clearly detailed, and at greater length than the present paper will allow.

First, then, we must begin with the plants in the nursery at an early age, when they have made a few shoots; some of them will be stronger than others, and two often of nearly an equal size. After the shoots have grown a foot or two, more or less, according to the kind of tree and other circumstances, break out the central or terminal bud; pinch off part of the last or present year's terminal shoot, or cut it off if it is too old or tough to pinch off with the finger and thumb; the strongest horizontal side shoots must be shortened, and prevented from extending too far, by the above method; and the more upright strong shoots, that are competing with the leader, must be cut in rather shorter, to cause them to throw out more smaller branches, as the strongest and most upright shoot must always be left uncut for the leader to form the stem of the future tree. This work must be followed up through every summer while in the nursery, and after they have been planted out and begun to make vigorous shoots; for summer is the best time to do it and twice through the summer would be much better, as some kinds of plants make too vigorous shoots in the growing season; first time about June, second time in August or September. These are the properest seasons for shortening the branches; and as it is such easy and delightful employment, and the seasons so pleasant, I do earnestly hope the fair sex will be induced to study and learn the art, when they may spend many a pleasant hour in healthful and really profitable employment, either alone, or with their spouses or brothers, in imitation of our first parents, when in their state of innocence in the plantations and gardens of Eden; how worthy to be imitated! but I beg pardon, I am digressing from the main subject.

By following up this system with the plants, from their infancy, we procure numerous small branches with buds and leaves, whereby the trees are supplied with nutriment for their support, and the increase of the stem; the quality of the timber is improved by the more numerous elongations from the buds of the young shoots and branches that descend longitudinally

down the stem; for, as the branches increase, so do the roots; and, vice versa, if the branches be few and straggling, so will the roots. If there is no unnatural cause to destroy the branches, then by following up this simple easy process, from 10 to 15 or 20 years, according to circumstances, we may raise the stem of a tree to any height that may be desirable, before it is permitted to branch out in all its native beauty and wildness; or we may dispose its future form to any use or in any way fancy or taste may dictate, as I have fully explained in my publication. At the same time, those branches that have been shortened, and prevented from being extended, or "cut in " (if that should be thought a more appropriate term), when young, are rendered, by that simple and easy operation, unable to acquire that degree of thickness which would injure the quality of the future timber when converted to use; as there would be none of those great knots which are so unsightly and often injurious when timber is worked up for cabinet or other purposes. Those small branches, besides contributing so materially to the increase of the stem, roots, and quality of the timber, &c., render it more hardy, and fitter for more open and exposed situations, if it should be desirable to transplant any of them from where they may be too thick, instead of cutting them down, or, what is more likely to happen, when they become more exposed by thinning, especially where fir trees are removed. By this system, the trees acquire a strength of stem and roots in proportion to their tops, and also a hardiness to enable them to stand the cold and stormy winds.

Moreover, as they may be trained to any length of straight stems as single trees, in hedge-rows and exposed situations, by following up the system long enough, the advantages it would be of to proprietors of land, where it would not be advisable to make plantations, are incalculable, as adapted to planting in hedge-rows, with the least possible injury to the land. In the hedge-rows of arable pasture and meadow land, how desirable would it be to have fine, tall, straight, handsome, and useful timber trees, instead of those low, spreading, shrub-like, useless trees (except for fuel), which are generally to be found in hedge-rows at the present day, and which are such a continual annoyance to the occupiers, from their unsightliness and the great injury they do to the crops by their excessive spread of boughs so near to the ground! I would here observe, that when hedge-rows are planted, trees should be chosen whose roots do not run near the surface, or produce suckers. Besides their ungraceful appearance, such ill formed trees are very injurious to the public roads, and often very troublesome to the traveller, when they are suffered to branch out in low,

spreading, shrub-like heads, which seldom attain to any considerable height; and when it becomes necessary to divest them of any of their great overgrown side boughs with the axe or saw, they become most unsightly things, and are generally good for very little when finally cut down. Any persons who have travelled much on the public roads must have observed this, if the contemplation of trees ever entered their minds; and how easily such evil consequences might be obviated, if the Billingtonian System were rightly understood and practised! All commissioners of roads ought to know it and have it practised; and hence the necessity of an Arboricultural Society, as suggested in my publication, for the improvement of the backward state of the much neglected art of arboriculture, and for the improvement and instruction of persons to perform or direct such operations. Then we might hope to see the art universally known and practised in this empire, otherwise it will be long before the prevailing errors are rooted out, and a better system prevails; then we might have handsome trees by the sides of the public roads, with fine, clear, straight stems of any height that might be thought advisable for such situations, when they would branch out into lofty branching heads, which would form an agreeable shady canopy in summer, while through the stems the air would circulate to dry the roads after rains; and in winter, when most wanted, the more horizontal rays of the sun would shine below the branches, to comfort the traveller, and dry the roads. It is astonishing how soon trees will attain a great height, with strength of stem, when my system is pursued, by preventing the side branches from extending too far and getting too large, and by encouraging one leading shoot to form the main trunk.

When the side branches have performed all their necessary functions, and the tree is sufficiently advanced in height and magnitude to do without them, they may be taken off, to render the stem clear and free from knots, similar to those trees that grow in the interior of woods, and have been divested of their side branches by natural causes. The branches of some sorts of trees would probably die of themselves when the top gets above to shade them, but not generally, because of the free access of light to the stems; so that in such open situations they would have to be removed by the knife, as by my system the branches would never be much thicker than a man's thumb when taken off.

But of as still great importance would it be if introduced in coppices of underwood, where every shoot necessary to be left might be trained and wonderfully improved for the various.