206 



even allovviii;^ tor lliis, loo many of tlie Inids will dexelo]), result- 

 ing in so much rompelition that the branches are weak, and the 

 flowers are small and wanting in (iiialit>'. Manv of tlu' branches 

 will lail to produce Hewers at all, and some will stain to grow- 

 only to be crowded out and killed b\- the remainder. Now su]v 

 posing, in the spring, instead of lea\ ing this rose bush unpruned, 

 we thin out (Miough of the weak branches and old branches, and 

 prune back tlie stronger canes, so that about tweiu\' growth buds 

 are lelt on the plant, the whole vagor of the root will then be con- 

 centrated on these bu'Js insti^ad of being dissipated o\-er a large 

 number of buds. Funhermore, the buds that are left are not 

 too crowded, and, hence, have the oj^iportunity to develop into 

 strong shoots bearing arge blossoms. 



The second ])oint: is .hat pruning may be used as a hel]) toward 

 the control ol disease. A great deal can be done lo lessen the 

 dangers of further infection by cutting out and burning those 

 parts of the ])lant tha are alrc^idy sulTering from disease. The 

 various stem-cankers, if left without attention, are a source of 

 infection for the healthy canes and for neighboring bushes and 

 should be remo\'ed. Alain- rosariaiis beliexe that a rose bush 

 that is pr()i)erly pruned, with all weak Ijranches removed and 

 its center open lo light and air, is better e([uipped to resist disease 

 than one that contains a tangled mass of dead and dying wood. 



The third i)oint is t lat pruning may be carried out in such a 

 way that the rose l.)ush perennially renews ils vouth. All ro- 

 sarians know that the finest roses are produced on maiden plants. 

 (For the benefit of lie uninil kitt'd, it may be w-ell lo exj^lain 

 that the term "maiden" is appli(>d to the rose making its first 

 year's growth from the bud or graft inserted upon the su])porling 

 stock: in other words, a rose bush one year old, or less. The 

 term is much more fre([uenlly used in Fngland than in America.) 



Tn the case of Tea, Hybrid Tea, and Hybrid Perjjetual roses, 

 with which we are mostly concerned at this time, the flowers are 

 produced on shoots which aris(^ from canes or branches of the 

 preceding year, hence the importance of so pruning that there is 

 no lack of strong, \igorous one-x-ear-old w-ood. This is an essen- 

 tial [-joint to keep in mind when jx-uning roses of (his tyjie. By 

 cutting out the aged wood evca-y spring, and U^aving only the 



