342 



ORNAMENTAL GARDENING. 



Those not familiar with the pruning of shrubs, often 

 err from not cutting enough at each time the job is 

 done. So long as a small number of buds are allowed to 

 remain towards the base on any young branch of one or 

 several season's growth, there is little danger of prun- 

 ing too severely for the good of the plant. In the en- 

 gravings, figures 136 and 



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Fig. 136.— 



BADLY PRUNED. 





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Fig. 137.— 



PROPERLY PRUNED. 



137, two single stem 

 shrubs are shown by the 

 entire lines — or they may 

 serve to represent branches 

 at pruning time, and two 

 places of cutting such 

 stems, are indicated by 

 cross lines. The first of 

 these, figure 136, is badly 

 cut as a timid pruner 

 misrht do the work. The 

 second shows the right principle of cutting, where 

 a fine bushy growth is desired. By cutting away 

 only at the top, an ill-shaped, top-heavy new growth, as 

 indicated by the dotted lines of figure 136 results, be- 

 cause upper branches have a tendency to grow strongest. 

 But if we make the cut away down, vigorous branches, 

 and fewer start out, and near the base, causing a low 

 and vigorous growth as figure 137 shows. 



This principle applies to the pruning of about every 

 ordinary kind of vegetable growth, and amateurs should 

 heed it as they are about handling the knife and shears. 

 But at the outset, in pruning shrubs, a certain differ- 

 ence of habit in the various kinds as to the manner of 

 flowering should be observed, if we would gain the best 

 results. One class of shrubs produce their flowers from 

 buds that were formed in the previous season. Another 

 class flower from buds that appear on the new wood of 

 the current season. Of the first class, those of which 



