in gardening and agriculture, is the lopping off the superfluous branches of trees, in order to make them bear better fruit, grow higher, or appear more regular.

Pruning, though an operation of very general use, is nevertheless rightly understood by few; nor is it to be learned by rote, but requires a strict observation of the different manners of growth of the several sorts of fruit-trees; the proper method of doing which cannot be known without carefully observing how each kind is naturally disposed to produce its fruit; for some do this on the same year's wood, as vines; others, for the most part, upon the former year's wood, as peaches, nectarines, &c.; and others upon spurs which are produced upon wood of three, four, &c., to fifteen or twenty years old, as pears, plums, cherries, &c. Therefore, in order to the right management of fruit-trees, provision should always be made to have a sufficient quantity of bearing wood in every part of the trees; and at the same time there should not be a superfluity of useless branches, which would exhaust the strength of the trees, and cause them to decay in a few years.

The reasons for pruning of fruit-trees, are, 1. To preserve them longer in a vigorous bearing-state; 2. To render them more beautiful; and, 3. To cause the fruit to be larger and better tasted.

The general instructions for pruning are as follow. The greatest care ought to be taken of fruit-trees in the spring, when they are in vigorous growth; which is the only proper season for procuring a quantity of good wood in the different parts of the tree, and for disposing of all useless branches as soon as they are produced, in order that the vigour of the tree may be entirely distributed to such branches only as are destined to remain. For this reason trees ought not to be neglected in April and May, when their shoots are produced; however, those branches which are intended for bearing Pruning the succeeding year should not be shortened during the time of their growth, because this would cause them to produce two lateral shoots, from the eyes below the place where they were stopped, which would draw much of the strength from the buds of the first shoot; and if the two lateral shoots are not entirely cut away at the winter-pruning, they will prove injurious to the tree. This is to be chiefly underwood of stone-fruit and grapes; but pears and apples, being much harder, suffer not so much, though it is a great disadvantage to those also to be thus managed. It must likewise be remarked, that peaches, nectarines, apricots, cherries, and plums, are always in the greatest vigour when they are least maimed by the knife; for where large branches are taken off, they are subject to gum and decay. It is therefore the most prudent method to rub off all useless buds when they are first produced, and to pinch others, where new shoots are wanted to supply the vacancies of the wall; by which management they may be so ordered as to want but little of the knife in winter-pruning. The management of pears and apples is much the same with these trees in summer; but in winter they must be very differently pruned: for as peaches and nectarines, for the most part, produce their fruit upon the former year's wood, and must therefore have their branches shortened according to their strength, in order to produce new shoots for the succeeding year; so, on the contrary, pears, apples, plums, and cherries, producing their fruit upon spurs, which come out of the wood of five, six, and seven years old, should not be shortened, because thereby those buds which were naturally disposed to form these spurs, would produce wood-branches; by which means the trees would be filled with wood, but would never produce much fruit. The branches of standard-trees should never be shortened unless where they are very luxuriant, and, by growing irregularly on one side of the trees, attract the greatest part of the sap, by which means the other parts are either unfurnished with branches, or are rendered very weak; in which case the branch should be shortened down as low as is necessary, in order to obtain more branches to fill up the hollow of the tree; but this is only to be underwood of pears and apples, which will produce shoots from wood of three, four, or more years old; whereas most sorts of stone-fruit will gum and decay after such amputations: whenever this happens to stone-fruit, it should be remedied by stopping or pinching those shoots in the spring, before they have obtained too much vigour, which will cause them to push out side-branches; but this must be done with caution. You must also cut out all dead or decaying branches, which cause their heads to look ragged, and also attract noxious particles from the air: in doing of this, you should cut them close down to the place where they were produced, otherwise that part of the branch which is left will also decay, and prove equally hurtful to the rest of the tree; for it seldom happens, when a branch begins to decay, that it does not die quite down to the place where it was produced, and if permitted to remain long uncut, often infects some of the other parts of the tree. If the branches cut off are large, it will be very proper, after having smoothed the cut part exactly even with a knife, chisel, or hatchet, to put on a plaster of grafting clay, which will prevent the wet from soaking into the tree at the wounded part. All such branches as run across each other, and occasion a confusion in the head of the tree, should be cut off; and as there are frequently young vigorous shoots on old trees, which rise from the old branches near the trunk, and grow upright into the head, these should be carefully cut out every year, lest, by being permitted to grow, they fill the tree too full of wood.

As to the pruning of forest-trees, if they be large, it is best not to prune them at all; yet, if there be an absolute necessity, avoid taking off large boughs as much as possible. And, 1. If the bough be small, cut it smooth, close, and sloping. 2. If the branch be large, and the tree old, cut it off at three or four feet from the stem. 3. If the tree grow crooked, cut it off at the crook, sloping upward, and nurse up one of the most promising shoots for a new stem. 4. If the tree grow top-heavy, its head must be lightened, and that by thinning the boughs that grow out of the main branches. But if you would have them spring, rub off the buds, and shroud up the side-shoots. 5. If the side-bough still break out, and the top be able to sustain itself, give the boughs that put forth in spring a pruning after Midsummer, cutting them close.