=Pruning Dead Wood.=—Opinions differ greatly as to whether or not dead branches should be removed from park and woodland trees. It is, however, mainly a matter of taste, and a point on which two of the largest owners of woodlands in this country hold distinctly opposite opinions, though at the same time it cannot be denied that the careful removal of all dead and dying wood from a tree is highly beneficial. Pruning should, however, only be extended to such trees as are in a fairly healthy condition, with well-developed heads, and containing only a moderate quantity of dead wood, there being many fine old specimens that would be rendered unsightly in the extreme and receive no benefit from removal of the dead and dying timber, but this has direct reference to trees standing singly throughout the park, and not to specimens in the woodland. In many of our parks and woodlands at the present time there exists an undue quantity of dead and dying wood, which may be attributed to natural decay, the quality of the soil, and in some instances to long-standing neglect in the matter of non-attention to wounds which have been caused by wind-broken limbs and branches. Such trees would be greatly improved, both in health and appearance, by judicious removal of the dead branches and attention to old wounds in order to prevent the ingress of water, the decay of many branches being directly attributable to this cause. That an undue quantity of dead wood will induce injurious insect pests, such as the goat and wood leopard moths, which attack healthy trees, is well known, and was exemplified in one of our London parks recently where numerous young thorns and various species of Pyrus were injured by the latter. In removing dead branches cut them well back into the living wood in order to induce fresh growth at the point where amputation takes place. The removal of large dead limbs from old specimen trees is an operation that requires a great amount of skill, and should only be entrusted to those who have had practical experience of pruning in its various phases. As before stated, the removal of dead wood is merely a matter of sentiment, though of its practical utility there can be no doubt, and in all cases where the stag-headed trees are conspicuous, the removal of the dead wood is to be recommended.