174

A DISCOURSE

x. saw, an excellent pruning-knife, broad chisel and mallet, all made of thebest steel and kept sharp ; and thus he is provided for greater, or moregentle executions, purgations, recisions, and coertions ; and it is of mainconcern, that the proper and effectual tool be applied to every work;since heavy and rude instruments do but mangle and bruise tender plants ;and if they be too small, they cannot make clear and even work upon,great arms and branches. The knife is for twigs and spray; the chiselfor larger arms, and such amputations as the ax and bill cannot welloperate upon. As much to be reprehended are those who either beginthis Work at unseasonable times', or so maim the poor branches, thateither out of lazinefs, or want of skill, they leave most of them stubs, andinstead of cutting the arms and branches close to the bole, hack them offa foot or two from the body of the tree, by which means they becomehollow and rotten, and are so many conduits to receive the rain and theweather, which conveys the wet to the very matrix and heart, deforming,the Whole tree with many ugly botches, which shortens its life, and'utterly mars the timber. I know Sir H. Platt tells us, the Elm should:be so lopped, but he says it not of his own experience, as I do. Andhere it is that I am, once for all, to warn our disorderly husbandmen^from coveting to let their lops grow to an extraordinary size before theytake them off, as conceiving it furnishes them with the more wood forthe fire; not considering how such ghastly wounds mortally affect thewhole body of the tree, or at least do so decay their vigour, that theyhereby lose more in one year than the lop amounts to, should they parethem off sooner, and when the scars might be covered: In the meanwhile that young Oaks prosper much in growth, by timely pruning, theindustrious Mr. Cook observes; whereas some other trees, as theHornbeam , &c. though they will bear considerable lops, when thereis only the shell of the tree standing, yet it is much to its detriment,especially to the Ash, which if once it comes to take wet by this means,rarely produces more lop to any purpose ,~ above all, if it decay in themiddle, it is then fitter for the chimney, than to stand and cumber theground: The same may be pronounced of most trees, which would notperhaps become dotards in many ages, but for this covetous barbarityand unskilful handling.

By this animadversion alone, it were easy for an ingenious man toUnderstand how trees are to be governed y which is, in a word, by