PRUNING ROSES FOR PEGGING DOWN. 6} 
serves to prevent the sense of uniformity which would prevail 
were there nothing but beds. 
The pillar may stand alone, or it may form one of several 
in a bed. It is in the latter circumstances that it does its 
best work. The beds of pillars in many of our large private 
Rose gardens, and also at Kew, are objects of great beauty. 
To have a pillar Rose in its fullest beauty it must be 
clothed from head to base. Pillars are frequently seen, how- 
ever, of which the upper part only is well furnished. This is 
a result, in many instances, of leaving the plant unshortened 
in the season of planting. In all cases where young plants 
are putin it is advisable to shorten them in spring, so as to 
ensure strong shoots from the base, which are certain to come 
if the roots are healthy and the soil is good. 
In the case of strong flowering plants three or four years 
old, well furnished with canes, such hard cutting back need 
not be practised, but the canes should be bent over when the 
buds begin to swell in spring, and only trained upright and 
secured to their supports when the lower buds have broken 
strongly. 
In any case of doubt as to shortening, whether in the first 
or subsequent years, the character of the growth may be 
studied. If the shoots are long, as thick as the little finger, 
or nearly so, firm, and brown or greenish brown in colour, 
they may be retained the greater part of their length. As a 
rule the tips are soft and unripe; these may be removed. If 
the shoots are little thicker than a straw, green and soft, they 
should be cut hard back. 
It is a help in the task of keeping the pillar well clothed 
from bottom to top if some of the ripe, strong shoots are 
shortened back or bent over when starting, in order to secure 
a good break of flowering wood near the base. 
In order to maintain pillars in beauty from year to year 
over a long series of years, it is advisable to periodically 
shorten a few of the stronger growths to buds near the ground 
in order to originate fresh wood. 
Pruning Roses for Pegging Down. 
The pegged-down Rose plays its part in the garden, and it 
is often observable that in proportion to the space it occupies 
this type of plant gives an exceptional quantity of bloom. 
The reason is that the natural energies of the plant are allowed 
greater vent than in the case of the hard-pruned dwarf. As a 
matter of fact, there are many varieties of Roses grown 
systematically as dwarfs, and pruned somewhat severely in 
order to keep them within bounds, which from their naturally 
vigorous habit are better adapted for being pegged down. 
The principle of pruning the pegged-down Rose is to lightly 
shorten the strong shoots in spring, and when they have 
