Ix PESTS 187 
on well-staked standards and on dwarfs, particularly 
if the Rose be weakly, and underground buds on 
the stock were not originally extirpated. A keen 
look-out should be given to all plants on manetti, 
as only an eye well accustomed to the appearance 
of the growth of this stock will distinguish it 
from the Rose, and many a gardener has hope- 
fully pruned great bushes of manetti for years, 
wondering at the absence of bloom, and ignorant 
that the Rose itself has been starved and killed 
outright. 
The usual way of removing suckers (‘‘ succour- 
ing’’ your plant which is being robbed) is by the 
aid of a spud, cutting them off as close to the main 
underground stem as possible. This course must 
be pursued with any that had started the year 
before or that do not prove amenable to other 
treatment. But there is some risk in doing this 
of cutting or injuring useful roots, and even a small 
bit of sucker left will often start afresh; so, to 
make a really good job of it, it is advisable where 
possible to make a way carefully with the spud 
down to the place where the sucker starts from 
the underground stem, and there cut it off with 
a sharp knife, being mindful of the sides, which 
are sure to start again, unless shaved level and 
smooth. 
The best plan, as with all pests, is to take the 
suckers in time as soon as ever they are seen, and 
then, not to cut them, but to pull them out. This 
can be done with practice in most cases, and when 
done it is thoroughly effectual: the sucker comes 
clean away right out of the socket, and grows no 
more. It requires humouring, and testing, and 
