SHRUBS 211 



be moved as seldom as possible, as you will find if you buy 

 large ones instead of small. The small shrubs, which do 

 not mind transplanting, will grow so vigorously that in a 

 few years they will outstrip those which were well grown 

 when set. It is therefore not wise to put shrubs closer than 

 they are expected to remain, for if moved in a year or two 

 they will suffer, and so will the looks of the shrubbery. Of 

 course young shrubs, planted at full distances, seem for a 

 year or so too wide apart. This can be remedied, if one has 

 enough shrubs, by planting twice as many as will be needed, 

 and then taking out every other one. But nearly as good 

 a method, and much cheaper, is to plant tall flowers, such 

 as larkspur and hollyhock, among them. 



In setting shrubs, all broken roots should be cut off clean. 

 The tops should also be pruned somewhat when set. After 

 that, all large shoots should be removed whenever it is seen 

 that their bark is getting rough and coarse. They should 

 be cut off at the very ground, probably two or three of them 

 every year. The younger ones will then replace them, 

 flowering all the better. This, which is nature's way, is a 

 much better method of pruning than to shear them all at 

 the ends. The time of pruning is always just after flower- 

 ing. The "spring pruning" is therefore injurious to some 

 shrubs, which lose some of their best blossoms when their 

 buds are cut away. 



An excellent use of shrubs is for hedges. For this purpose 

 they are planted closely, usually from eighteen inches to two 

 feet apart, and are kept in bounds by shearing or heavy 

 pruning. Good shrubs for this purpose are the Japanese 

 barberry, the California privet (best near the seashore) and 

 the Japanese privet (hardier), rosa rugosa, lilac, Japanese 

 quince, and, toward the South, the box. Of these the Japa- 

 nese barberry and the rosa rugosa should be pruned, the rest 



