MANAGEMENT OF OLD TREES | s1 
appearance of the trees are to be kept as nearly as 
possible perfect, experienced men are necessary. Of 
course, in any garden it will sometimes happen that the 
gardener may have to puta novice to do some part of 
the clipping, as fortunate indeed is the gardener in 
charge of a Topiary garden who can rely year after year 
on three or four men who are thoroughly trained and 
accustomed to the art of Topiary clipping. When it is 
found necessary to employ a person to do any part of the 
clipping who has not had any previous experience, he 
should only be allowed to begin on trees of the least 
importance, and those most concealed from view. ‘The 
beginner will always find that a round or oval shaped 
tree is a great deal less difficult to work upon than a 
square one, orahedge. Therefore, if possible, he should 
be allowed to get his hand in on round trees. It is 
always a wise plan when a novice is learning the work, 
to have a thoroughly experienced person working close 
at hand—but not on the same tree—to assist him and 
see that as few mistakes as possible are made. No 
hard and fast line can be drawn as to the exact date 
when the clipping season should begin, but it should be 
as soon as possible after the trees have completed their 
growth, as at that season the young shoots are soft, and 
not so difficult to clip. In any case it should not be 
later than the middle of September, especially if there is 
a large amount of clipping to be done. If it can be 
found convenient to start a fortnight or three weeks 
earlier, so much the better. More especially does this 
apply to beech or horn-beam, as they finish their growth 
sooner than the yew, and if they are not clipped immedi- 
ately, the young shoots get hard and, of course, are more 
difficult to manage. Where there is enough clipping to 
keep three or four men at work for nine or ten weeks, 
the sooner the work is commenced after September comes — 
in the better, as it enables the work to be got through 
