HYBRID PERPETUALS 27 



three inches for the weakest, all very thin and weak 

 shoots being cut out. But even this pruning, severe 

 though it is, will not produce blooms capable of winning 

 prizes in the show tent ; beginners who have this end 

 in view should turn to the chapter on " Rose Growing 

 for Exhibition." If the garden owner delights in big plants 

 that bear blooms in profusion, then he should cut off 

 about one-third of each of the stems. It is a mistake 

 to leave them longer than this ; it is true that by doing 

 so a big bush will be obtained all the more quickly, 

 but alas ! it will have very bare legs and, like the school- 

 boy growing out of his trousers, so will the rose grow 

 out of its leaves. And a bush that is leafy and full of 

 flowers at the top, with stems bare at the base, is not 

 good enough, even for a beginner, There is no reason 

 why one should not adopt a modified form of pegging 

 down with the vigorous sorts, whereby a similar result 

 is obtained, without such sacrifice of space. This is 

 accomplished by bending down some of the strongest 

 shoots, and tying their tips to the stem of the plant. 

 The effect is ugly, undoubtedly, for a few weeks, but 

 leafy stems soon hide all defects, and the enhanced 

 harvest of blossom puts an end to regrets. 



The varieties of moderate growth represented by 

 A. K. Williams, Louis Van Houtte, Victor Hugo, and 

 Fisher Holmes need hard pruning ; each shoot should 

 be shortened to within about three buds of the base, 

 otherwise the shoots will be very weak, and bear poor 

 flowers. Only by planting in rich soil and pruning 

 hard are these varieties seen 'at their best. 



