VARIETY IN SHRUBS 83 



The lilac has, so far as I know, only two foes to contend with: 

 overmuch rain, and mildew from long-continued heat or drought 

 or from other causes; and even then, these causes do not always 

 have unfavorable effects. Borers and fungi are less frequent 

 enemies. The lilac is one of the hardiest shrubs known; it will 

 grow as one wants it, according to its proper pruning, and in 

 May its steeples or pinnacles of bloom tower skyward, an up- 

 lifted offering for the beauty of the spring. Cultural directions 

 are few: planting may be done in spring or autumn, but the 

 last is best because of early swelling of the flower-buds. Lilacs 

 dislike moving, so choose their position beforehand with care. 

 If moved, they do not die, but languish and refuse to bloom 

 for a year, sometimes for more years, and this is especially true 

 of old specimens. What truth there is in Benjamin Franklin's 

 rhyme : — 



I never saw an oft-removed tree. 



Nor yet an oft-removed family. 



That throve so well as those that settled be. 



Two or three rules which may be suggested here for best 

 results with these shrubs are — First: Give the lilac a well-dug 

 and manured soil when planting. Second: Give the lilac room. 

 Most varieties are of fairly rapid growth, and eight to ten feet 

 apart is not too much to allow when grouping them. Third: 

 Prune the lilac judiciously — and little. Seed should not be 

 allowed to form, and all weak shoots should be taken out. 

 Watch for suckers, especially if your lilacs are not on their own 

 roots; to permit the stock to send up shoots is to quickly smother 

 your beautiful variety or hybrid in growth of privet or common 

 lilac. "If your plants are not on their own roots," says Mr. 

 Dunbar, "be sure to set them about three inches or more in 

 the earth above the union, and in two or three years' time they 

 will be on their own roots." The privet on which they are usually 



