MANAGEMENT OF OLD TREES 51 



appearance of the trees are to be kept as nearly as 

 possible perfect, experienced men are necessary. Of 

 course, in any garden it will sometimes happen that the 

 gardener may have to put] a novice to do some part of 

 the clipping, as fortunate indeed is the gardener in 

 charge of a Topiary garden who can rely year after year 

 on three or four men who are thoroughly trained and 

 accustomed to the art of Topiary clipping. When it is 

 found necessary to employ a person to do any part of the 

 clipping who has not had any previous experience, he 

 should only be allowed to begin on trees of the least 

 importance, and those most concealed from view. The 

 beginner will always find that a round or oval shaped 

 tree is a great deal less difficult to work upon than a 

 square one, or a hedge. Therefore, if possible, he should 

 be allowed to get his hand in on round trees. It is 

 always a wise plan when a novice is learning the work, 

 to have a thoroughly experienced person working close 

 at hand but not on the same tree to assist him and 

 see that as few mistakes as possible are made. No 

 hard and fast line can be drawn as to the exact date 

 when the clipping season should begin, but it should be 

 as soon as possible after the trees have completed their 

 growth, as at that season the young shoots are soft, and 

 not so difficult to clip. In any case it should not be 

 later than the middle of September, especially if there is 

 a large amount of clipping to be done. If it can be 

 found convenient to start a fortnight or three weeks 

 earlier, so much the better. More especially does this 

 apply to beech or horn-beam, as they finish their growth 

 sooner than the yew, and if they are not clipped immedi- 

 ately, the young shoots get hard and, of course, are more 

 difficult to manage. Where there is enough clipping to 

 keep three or four men at work for nine or ten weeks, 

 the sooner the work is commenced after September comes 

 in the better, as it enables the work to be got through 



