and the balance between the top and the roots of the 

 plant is not upset. This finger pruning — in some cases 

 called "dis-budding" — should be practiced a good deal 

 more than it usually is. You are doubtless in the habit 

 of removing the buds from your chrysanthemums to 

 get larger flowers and of "pinching out" the surplus 

 shoots on your tomato plants so that they will not attempt 

 to bear more fruit than they can ripen quickly. Exactly 

 the same thing can be done to many other plants, shrubs, 

 and trees, thus saving the plant and yourself a lot of 

 useless work. 



c 



FIG. 2. 

 Making the cut in pruning: A — idght for summer or 

 green pruning; B — ^right for winter or dormant pruning; 

 C — wrong, too slanting; D — wrong, too far from bud; 

 E — wrong, too close to bud. 



But most of your pruning, even if you are more careful 

 than the average gardener about "nipping in the bud" 

 superfluous and undesirable growth, will be done with 

 the pruning shears. In using them, there are four things 

 which you should always keep in mind. Eventually 

 they will become second nature, but at the outset you 

 should learn them by heart, so that you can check them 

 off on your finger tips any time you ask yourself what 

 they are! 



First — Always leave a clean smooth cut. Careless 

 cutting or dull shears, leaving a ragged edge, means slow 

 healing and increased danger — to say nothing about its 

 being the earmark of a slovenly gardener. 



Second — Cut just the right distance above the bud. 

 If you cut close to it, it is likely to be injured. If you 



