338 SOME SPECIFIC ADVICE 



place of the part that has been lost, and cover themselves 

 with flower -buds for another year. 



"Another class of shrubs, like the hydrangeas, althaeas and 

 certain tamarisks, which flower in late summer or autumn 

 from buds which have developed on the wood grown dur- 

 ing the current summer, should be pruned in late autumn 

 after flowering, or, at least, before the wood starts in the 

 spring, so as to encourage abundant summer growth and 

 flower-buds for the next autumn. 



"But these are the simplest elementary rules, and relate 

 solely to the production of flowers. Shrubs are useful 

 for many other purposes than merely to display their 

 blossoms. They are beautiful all the year round. Even 

 in the winter the variously colored barks of many of them 

 add a singular charm to the landscape. We, therefore, 

 prune them not only to promote the production of flowers, 

 but of wood and foliage and fruit as well, to insure grace 

 or symmetry of outline, and to make them vigorous and 

 healthy. 



"The simple cutting-in of flowering wood in spring or 

 fall is thus a small part of the art of pruning, and where 

 there is a large variety of shrubs there is no time of year 

 when something in this direction cannot be done, and it is 

 especially useful when it is continued throughout the entire 

 growing season. 



"If surplus wood is to be removed, a clean cut in midsum- 

 mer will heal over much more readily than it will in cold 

 weather, and there is no better time for removing superfluous 

 branches or for shortening- in over- vigorous shoots which 

 interfere with the symmetry of a specimen. Some trees 

 and shrubs, whose branches bleed when cut in spring, will 

 heal over quickly if pruned while in full leaf. 



"If the strong branches are pinched back in summer the 

 wood will ripen into such a sound condition for withstand- 

 ing cold that trees naturally tender have been known to 

 endure our winters fairly well when their branches have been 



