80 THE ROSE. 
ture, but no directions that can be given will 
prevent some mistakes from being made. It 
is practical experience alone that will enable 
one to determine just what is to be done in 
each individual case, and just how to do it; 
but the general principles that should govern 
can be easily stated and comprehended. I 
would recommend the operator to procure 
what is known as a pruning-knife, having a 
hooked blade, and also a secateur, or pair of 
pruning-shears; the latter is better for cutting 
away shoots from the centre of a bushy plant 
and is the quickest and most easy to handle, 
but where a very smooth cut is desired, the 
pruning-knife will be found most effective; 
it is also less likely to bruise the bark. All 
roses that come from the open ground should 
be pruned before planting or immediately 
after. Many persons who are careless, or not 
informed, set out the plants just as they 
come from the nurseries; under such circum- 
stances the plants cannot thrive, the sap has 
too many buds to nourish and a weak growth 
ensues. ‘The shock from transplanting must 
be met by a shortening of both shoots and 
roots; the shoots being shortened the number 
of buds to draw upon the sap is reduced and 
amore vigorous growth follows. Not only 
should all bruised roots be pruned, cutting 
