PRUNING FLOWERING SHRUBS. 173 



I think I have before warned you to take care, 

 in pruning shrubs, to distinguish between those 

 that form. -their blossom buds, at the end of the 

 shoots which are to produce the flowers in the 

 spring, and those which produce their flowers 

 from the shoots, or any part of the stem. The 

 lilac is an example of the former: the buds which 

 are to blow in the spring, are made in the autumn, 

 at the tips of the shoots ; and if you take, in 

 September, a full round bud of the lilac, you 

 will see the little embryo flow r er and leaves form- 

 ed ready for the next year. The rose is an ex- 

 ample of the latter class : here the flowers are 

 formed on the new spring shoots on any part 

 of the stem, and it is therefore best to prune 

 away, in the autumn, all the old shoots of the 

 preceding year, down to two or three buds, 

 from which the new shoots arise to produce 

 flowers in the following summer. 



