176 



THE ROSE BOOK 



of pruning adopted.'-^. The harder the pruning the finer 

 and, usually, the fewer will be the blooms, and vice versa. 

 But there is, I think, little satisfaction in having a 

 garden full of roses if all the blooms are poor, and 

 devoid of that exquisite grace of form that is one of the 



A standard rose after pruning, showing weak growths cut 

 out and others shortened to varying lengths. 



chief charms of the queen of flowers. vFor this reason it 

 is desirable always to prune rather severely ; not only 

 does this enable one to obtain finer blooms, but it forces 

 the plants to make vigorous growth, thus keeping them 

 youthful and healthy. A growth is cut back at a point 



