DIRECTIONS[5] FOR TRAINING PLANK TIMBER.
Divide all branches into leaders and feeders; leaders, the main or superior shoots which tend to become stems, A, a, a; feeders, the inferior branches, B, b, b, b.
{9}
Should more than one leader appear from the time of planting the tree till it attain the required height for the plank, shorten all but the most promising one down to the condition of feeders, making the section immediately above a twig, preferring one which takes a lateral or horizontal direction. Vide dotted line crossing a, a.
Should any feeder, below the required height, become enlarged beyond its compeers, such as B, reduce it to equality (vide dotted line), or prune it close off, if this should be necessary to the symmetry of the tree.
Cut off, close by the trunk, all shoots which rise at a very acute angle with the main stem, such as C. There is a triple reason for this: they rise up and interfere with the more regular horizontal feeders, tending also to become leaders; they do not form a proper junction with the stem, by reason of the wood, as it swells, not being able to throw up the bark out of the narrow angle; thence the bark of both stem and branch is enclosed in the confined breek, and the wood never unites[6], thence disease is {10} liable to be generated between them, or the branches are subject to be torn down by the wind; and should they ultimately come to be removed, being then of considerable size, and the section from their perpendicular position being partly horizontal, as the sides of the wound swell up, the rain lodges in the centre, and generates rot. These nearly perpendicular branches generally originate from improper pruning, springing out where a large branch has been cut away.
Lop off all branches, which, by taking an irregular direction, incline to rub upon the more regular; also remove all splintered, twisted, and diseased branches.
Do not cut away any of the lower branches (feeders) till they become sickly or dead. By pruning these prematurely, you destroy the fine balance of nature, and throw too much vigour into the top, which in consequence puts forth a number of leaders. You also diminish the growth of the tree by the loss of healthy feeders; the timber of the tree increasing in proportion to the quantity of healthy branches and foliage (the foliage being the stomach and lungs {11} of the plant). You also, by diminishing the number of feeders, increase the comparative size of those remaining, which throws the upper part of the stem into large knots, improper for plank, and renders then future excision dangerous, as large feeders, when circumstance or decay require their removal, or, when they are rifted off by winds or snow, leave wounds which often carry corruption into the core of the tree.
After the tree has acquired a sufficient height of bole for plank, say from 20 to 60 feet, according to circumstance of exposure, climate, &c., and also as many branches above this height as may be thought necessary to carry on advantageously the vital functions, as the superior head will now sustain small injury by being thrown out into large branches and plurality of leaders, (if it be oak it will become more valuable by affording a number of small crooks and knees); it will then be proper, in order to have timber as clean as possible, and regularly flexible, to lop clean off all the branches on the stem as far up as this required height. From the early attention to procure very numerous feeders, and to prevent any from attaining large size, the wounds will very soon be closed over, leaving no external scar, and as little as possible of internal knot or breaking off of {12} fibre. There are many salves, panaceæ, and pigments in use for covering over the section of removed branches, which in ordinary cases may occasion no injury, but they are unsightly. In wounds of beech trees where the cut tubes are so prone to die downward a considerable way into the stem and to generate rot, an antiseptic quickly-drying pigment might be beneficial. This and the time of the season for pruning, at which the cut tubes or fibres are least liable to die inward, deserve attention. We consider the spring the least dangerous time. Should a number of small shoots spring out in consequence of this last pruning, they may be swept down if good plank be desired; if not, they may remain, as their presence will not greatly injure the plank, and they occasion the stem to thicken considerably faster where they grow: yet it is probable that, in doing this, by obstructing the flow of the sap downwards, they may interfere with the natural enlargement of the roots, and ultimately be injurious. Some varieties, or rather some individuals of oak, are much more prone to this sprouting upon the bole after pruning than others; where the disposition exists in a great degree it ought to be encouraged, and the tree set apart for the construction of cabinet work. {13}