FALL WORK IN 



yourself with a good pruning-knife and see 

 that it is kept sharp enough to make a smooth, 

 clean cut. A dull knife that " haggles " away 

 the wood should never be tolerated. 



Pruning can be done to advantage in fall 

 among such shrubs as are not laid down and 

 covered in winter. These latter should be left 

 for spring-pruning. There can be no hard- 

 and-fast rule as to how to prune or how much 

 to prune. The character and habit of the 

 shrub must determine this to a great extent. 

 Some have but few branches. These will re- 

 quire no thinning out, but simply a shortening, 

 which will induce the production of side 

 branches, thus giving a more bushy and com- 

 pact plant than would be likely if the plant 

 were left to itself. Other shrubs make such 

 a rampant growth that they soon become a 

 thicket. These should be thinned out, leaving 

 the plant open to a free circulation of air. Old 

 and weak wood should always be removed. 

 By yearly attention to this matter we may 

 renew a shrub from season to season and keep 

 it always strong, provided we feed it well. 

 But care must be taken in pruning to discrim- 

 inate between shrubs which produce flowers in 

 spring from buds formed in fall, like those of 



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