THE GARDEN PRIMER 



But far from being useless these are Nature's won- 

 derful reserve, held back for weeks or months or maybe 

 years as the case may be, yet always in readiness to 

 spring to the rescue when the plant's normal leaf surface 

 is taken away. For leaf surface cannot be reduced 

 the proportion between it and root surface must be 

 maintained. With wonderful intelligence and patience 

 they wait, therefore these reserve buds until injury 

 comes to the terminal bud. Then they fairly leap into 

 activity in their haste to supply the loss. 



It must always be remembered, therefore, that 

 pruning at branch ends stimulates excessive growth of 

 shoots up to a certain point beyond this point the 

 victim succumbs and that the way to thin shrubs is 

 to look beyond the twigs that are too numerous down to 

 the branch or stalk whence they spring to go right 

 down to the ground and cut out old wood. 



44 



