230 TREES AND SHRUBS 



to remove a portion of the leafy branches. This 

 helps to restore, in some measure, the balance 

 between root and top. The shrub will frequently 

 do this itself. Hollies, for instance, often lose a 

 large proportion of their leaves after transplanting 

 in spring ; it is one of the surest signs of success, 

 just as the shrivelling of the leaves on the branches 

 is the worst. Evergreen oaks also furnish other 

 examples. I remember a good proof of the value 

 of late planting of evergreens being furnished here 

 (Kew) by the Holm Oak [Quercus Ilex). A gap in 

 an avenue of these trees had to be filled up, and a 

 specimen was planted from the nursery at the end 

 of April. The weather that followed was not un- 

 favourable ; but by the beginning of June I saw it 

 was not going to live. However, it was then replaced 

 by a similar plant, the young shoots on which 

 were already 2 or 3 inches long. The young growth 

 flagged a little at first, but the roots soon got hold 

 of the soil, and the tree is now one of the healthiest 

 in the avenue. The Holm Oak is notoriously bad to 

 transplant." 



Pruning. — This is quite simple ; but pruning, 

 whether of the Rose, the deciduous tree or shrub, or 

 the evergreen, seems to be regarded as a mysterious 

 and wonderful operation. Many gardeners delight 

 in using the knife apparently as a physical exercise, 

 and the wise man is he who allows his shrubs to 

 develop their natural beauty of form and flower. 

 An evergreen shrub requires practically no pruning, 

 as we understand the term generally, unless some 



