82 THE FRUIT-TREE AND SHRUB PRUNER. 



It may be necessary to cut it in at times, or even 

 to thin out some of the branches, and this should bo 

 done in the spring. 



On the Pruning of the Conifers. 



All the Conifers) will bear the young growth stopped 

 at the ends of the branches, but not any severe cutting 

 back or pruning into the old wood, with a view to ob- 

 tain new growth in order to renovate the plant. The 

 Pinus insignis will bear more pruning than most of 

 the Pines, but no attempt must be made at cutting 

 it back into the old wood. 



The Pines and all the Abies, as well as the Cupressus 

 tribes, may be stopped at the ends while the plants 

 are young, with a view to induce symmetry of character, 

 or to obtain a limited development of the specimen. 



It sometimes happens that a beautiful specimen 

 is found to be planted in a spot where a very limited 

 space can be allowed it. I have often seen this, when 

 not knowing what to do, or through not actually 

 attending to the early pruning of it, and the valuable 

 plant has had to be cut down. I have seen a Pinus 

 insignis, valued at £100 or more, destroyed on this 

 account. 



Once for all, I have to repeat that all the Conifene 

 may be pruned, but only by stopping the young 

 growth, or by very careful knife-pruning of the 

 young branches during the early stages of the growth 

 of the plants. Old branches may be thinned out, but 

 not with the object of obtaining new growth from 

 them. 



The Thorn. 



It often happens that a fine standard Thorn gets 

 beyond its bounds and intrudes upon some other 

 object. Whenever this is the case, prune the plant 

 as much as you choose, there will be no danger of 

 such a course being fatal to it. When a specimen 



