Till when are they termed saplings? R. Eleazar b. Azariah [T2] says: until they are permitted for common use; but R. Joshua [T2] says: until they are seven years old. R. Akiba [T3] says: [the word] sapling must be taken literally. If a tree had been felled and produced fresh shoots of one handbreadth or less, they are regarded as saplings; if of more than a handbreadth they are regarded as trees. So R. Simeon [T4].
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