8o THE ROSE. 



ture, but no directions that can be given will 

 prevent some mistakes from being made. It 

 is practical experience alone that will enable 

 one to determine just what is to be done in 

 each individual case, and just how to do it ; 

 but the general principles that should govern 

 can be easily stated and comprehended. I 

 would recommend the operator to procure 

 what is known as a pruning-knife, having a 

 hooked blade, and also a secateur, or pair of 

 pruning-shears ; the latter is better for cutting 

 away shoots from the centre of a bushy plant 

 and is the quickest and most easy to handle, 

 but where a very smooth cut is desired, the 

 pruning-knife will be found most effective ; 

 it is also tess likely to bruise the bark. All 

 roses that come from the open ground should 

 be pruned before planting or immediately 

 after. Many persons who are careless, or not 

 informed, set out the plants just as they 

 come from the nurseries ; under such circum- 

 stances the plants cannot thrive, the sap has 

 too many buds to nourish and a weak growth 

 ensues. The shock from transplanting must 

 be met by a shortening of both shoots and 

 roots ; the shoots being shortened the number 

 of buds to draw upon the sap is reduced and 

 a more vigorous growth follows. Not only 

 should all bruised roots be pruned, cutting 



