260 SHRUB PRUNING. 



mended by the first masters, nor confined by fixed 

 rules in any of his operations ; but considering only 

 the local circumstances which affect the objects of his 

 care, will shape his manner of both pruning and train- 

 ing accordingly. The practice and opinions of intel- 

 ligent practitioners alluded to in this section, are 

 not so much brought forward for dictating rules, as 

 to show the tractability of the physical members and 

 evolutions of plants. 



Flowering Shrub Pruning. The object of the 

 fruit-grower, and that of the florist, in pruning their 

 respective plants, is nearly similar. The florist 

 endeavours to gain either numbers, or magnitude of 

 flowers. All sorts of trees and shrubs having terminal 

 flowers, as Magnolia, Camellia, Rhododendron, c., 

 are made floriferous, by checking luxuriance of growth, 

 which is accomplished by the means practised for 

 dwarfing fruit-trees, viz., by grafting, budding, con- 

 fining in small pots, limiting the supplies of water, or 

 lowering the quality of the soil in which they are 

 grown. Such as bear their flowers laterally, as the 

 almond, myrtle, &c., should, by pruning, be made to 

 produce numerous shoots, in order to have a full 

 bloom. In general, however, our flowering shrubs, 

 as well as trees, are left to nature ; little pruning 

 being necessary except to keep them in form. 



Of all flowering plants roses require most knife- 

 work. It is indispensable to correct their straggling 

 habit of growth, as well as to obtain perfect and 

 abundant bloom. The flowers being borne on shoots 



