VI PRUNING 97 
blooms than for well-shaped plants. When I first 
learnt to prune, a long time ago, H.P.s were quite 
new and very few in number, and there were still 
many large standards of summer Roses, each of 
which was a study in itself for the pruner’s art. 
First, as to the instruments required. A pruner 
of the old school would condemn the use of scissors 
or secateurs, be horrified to see a shoot cut off square, 
and would consider the neat smooth sloping cut 
of asharp knife to be the only legitimate appearance. 
He would also perhaps scorn the use of gloves and 
think he could do his work better without them; 
but this must be a matter of taste, for it is useless 
to deny that Roses have thorns, which are especially 
hard and sharp at pruning time. A Rosarian does 
not much heed summer thorns on the young wood— 
green, and comparatively pliable and soft; but on 
all ripe wood, where they have become dry, hard, 
and brittle, they are another matter. It is well to 
remember that in using a knife, especially to budded 
Roses of one year’s growth, the plant must be firmly 
held with the other hand, or a serious breakage is 
very apt to occur. 
Two good knives, a whetstone, a strong pair of 
sécateurs, and a mat to kneel on by the dwarf 
plants, will probably prove a sufficient equipment. 
One of the knives should have a strong blade, the 
other a narrower and smaller one. The smaller and 
thinner the blade the easier it will be to use and 
to keep sharp: a large part of ordinary pruning 
may be done with a budding-knife. The hone 
should be carried about and not left behind, or the 
tearing off of a valuable branch will soon be the 
result of a blunted blade. The sécateurs or scissors 
H 
