362 THE GARDEN, YOU, AND I 



bushes blended so as to form a hedge, a row of 

 stout poles, also a little lower than the bushes, should 

 be set firmly behind them, the twine being woven care- 

 fully in and out among the larger branches, and then 

 tightened carefully, so that the whole plant is gradu- 

 ally drawn back and yet the binding string is concealed. 



If it is possible to locate cosmos, hollyhocks, and 

 Dahlias (especially Dahlias) in the same place for sev- 

 eral successive years, a flanking trellis fence of light 

 posts, with a single top and bottom rail and poultry 

 wire of a three- inch mesh between, will be found 

 a good investment. Against this the plants may be 

 tethered in several places, and thus not only separate 

 branches can be supported naturally, but individual 

 flowers as well, in the case of the large exhibition 

 Dahlias. 



Practicable as is the proper carrying out of the 

 matter, in a score of otherwise admirable gardens we 

 have seen the results of weeks and months of prepa- 

 ration either throttled and bound martyrlike to a stake 

 or twisted and tethered, until the natural, habit of 

 growth was wholly changed. In some cases the plants 

 were so meshed in twine and choked that it seemed as 

 if a spiteful fairy had woven a "cat's cradle" over them 

 or that they had followed out the old proverb and, 



