IX PESTS 187 



on well-staked standards and on dwarfs, particularly 

 if the Rose be weakly, and underground buds on 

 the stock were not originally extirpated. A keen 

 look-out should be given to all plants on manetti, 

 as only an eye well accustomed to the appearance 

 of the growth of this stock will distinguish it 

 from the Rose, and many a gardener has hope- 

 fully pruned great bushes of manetti for years, 

 wondering at the absence of bloom, and ignorant 

 that the Rose itself has been starved and killed 

 outright. 



The usual way of removing suckers (" succour- 

 ing" your plant which is being robbed) is by the 

 aid of a spud, cutting them off as close to the main 

 underground stem as possible. This course must 

 be pursued with any that had started the year 

 before or that do not prove amenable to other 

 treatment. But there is some risk in doing this 

 of cutting or injuring useful roots, and even a small 

 bit of sucker left will often start afresh ; so, to 

 make a really good job of it, it is advisable where 

 possible to make a way carefully with the spud 

 down to the place where the sucker starts from 

 the underground stem, and there cut it off with 

 a sharp knife, being mindful of the sides, which 

 are sure to start again, unless shaved level and 

 smooth. 



The best plan, as with all pests, is to take the 

 suckers in time as soon as ever they are seen, and 

 then, not to cut them, but to pull them out. This 

 can be done with practice in most cases, and when 

 done it is thoroughly effectual : the sucker comes 

 clean away right out of the socket, and grows no 

 more. It requires humouring, and testing, and 



