PLANTING AND PRUNING. 65 



watered. Water must not be applied during the 

 heat of the day, but in the morning or evening. 

 The pruning of roses is one of the most im- 

 portant features connected with their culture, 

 but no directions that can be given will prevent 

 some mistakes from being made. It is practical 

 experience alone that will enable one to deter- 

 mine 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 Yorj smooth cut is desired, the prun- 

 ing-knife will be found most effective ; it is also 

 less 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 ; un- 

 der such circumstances the plants cannot thrive, 

 the sap has too many buds to nourish and a weak 



