MANAGEMENT OF OLD TREES 
Ir is perhaps when the work of clipping and training 
the trees begins, that the most difficult part of the 
practical management of a Topiary garden is experienced ; 
but as in this chapter I intend to deal only with old 
trees, I will leave the training and shaping of young 
trees to be described in another chapter. 
It is a matter that requires both skill and experience, 
both on the part of the man who is handling the shears, 
and of the gardener who is superintending, and who is 
also responsible for the work. ‘There is nothing which 
looks worse in a garden than trees not properly clipped, 
and no clipped work can be called: properly done if all 
or even any shear marks are visible totheeye. Clipping 
and training of trees in a Topiary garden is work that 
should either be done properly or else not at all. If the 
greatest possible amount of care is not bestowed on the 
trees, they will very soon grow out of shape, and, of 
course, become unsightly; and nothing is wanted ina 
garden that is not pleasing to the eye. 
If the garden is a very extensive one and contains a 
large number of old specimen trees, the work of clipping 
them and cleaning up afterwards is an undertaking that 
requires a great deal of time and labour, as the work is 
not of a nature that will allow men to hurry over it, 
and it is moreover a labour of skill and patience. 
In an old Formal Garden, where Topiary work is 
considered the principal feature, it is advisable to allow 
only men who are thoroughly experienced in the work 
to dothe clipping. In fact, if the shape and symmetrical 
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