TREES, SHRUBS, VINES AND PLANTS. 359 



feet tall, should be planted as near together as one foot, to obtain 

 a good effect. 



Deciduous trees and shrubs should be given a 

 Priming severe cutting-back or pruning when transplanted. 

 More or less roots are always bruised and broken 

 during transplanting, and all such should be trimmed off with 

 pruning-shears or a sharp knife, as the bark cannot heal over a 

 rough wound. In order to insure a strong and healthy growth, as 

 well as to cause the plant to become bushy or attain any desired 

 shape, it is well to cut off from each branch one-third to one-half 

 of the previous summer's growth. Fruit-trees respond especially 

 to free pruning at the time of transplanting. 



The matter of when and how to prune established shrubs and 

 trees depends upon their habits and the purpose for which the 

 operation is performed. Shrubs that bloom early in the spring 

 form their flower-buds during the preceding summer, and they 

 should therefore not be pruned until immediately after flowering, 

 if their flowering is to be preserved. Late-blooming shrubs flower 

 on wood of the same season's growth, and should be pruned 

 while dormant, in late winter or very early spring. One-third 

 the previous season's growth may be removed. Shrubs planted 

 in masses should be pruned regularly to induce a dense growth, 

 and to prevent individual plants from becoming too tall, with 

 unsightly, open branches. 



The shearing or trimming of hedges in cold 

 Shearing climates, should never be done later than July first, 

 as late cutting allows a tender new growth, which 

 does not have time to ripen properly and consequently is liable 

 to winter-kill. The shearing of individual shrubs to form flat- 

 topped, globe, pyramidal, or other unnatural-shaped specimens 

 should, as a general rule, be avoided. 



Fruit-trees require pruning to check too vigorous growth, and, 

 as is the case with ornamental trees, to keep them symmetrical. 

 The removal of a portion of the new growth concentrates the 

 nourishment supplied by the roots in the remaining branches, 

 and, if the tree is of bearing age, influences the production of 

 larger, better fruit. Too severe pruning, however, induces the 

 growth of new wood, at the expense of fruit. All cuts must be 



