GENERAL CATALOGUE 



25 



remarks are applicable to all deciduous Trees and Shrubs. Evergreens seldom require pruning, but Arbor 

 Vitie and other Evergreens planted in hedge rows may be advantageously shorn immediately after 

 planting. 



Directions for planting, mulching, staking, and after culture, same as for fruit trees (see Hints 

 in Fruit Department, page 4). 



PRUNING 



Pruning, as practiced by some people, has the effect to render trees and shrubs unnatural and inele- 

 gant. We refer to the custom of shearing trees, particularly conifers, into cones, pyramids, and other un- 

 natural shapes. Every tree, shrub, and plant has a habit- of growth peculiar to itself, and this very 

 peculiarity is one of its beauties. If we prune all trees into regular shapes we destroy their identity. 

 The pruning knife, therefore, should be used to assist nature, and handled with judgment and care ; to lop 

 off straggling branches, to thin the head of a tree which has become too dense, and to remove dead wood. 

 Sometimes it becomes necessary to prune severely to keep a tree from attaining too great size. 



SHEARING may be practiced on hedges, but never on trees or shrubs. 



PRUNING SHRUBS 



INIany persons trim and shear them into regular shapes, imagining that regular outline adds to their 

 efiFect and beauty. While symmetry and regularity of form are to be admired in a shrub, this quality 

 should never be gained at the expense of health and natural grace. 



Each shrub has peculiarities of habit and foliage, and we should aim to preserve them as far as pos- 

 sible. Judicious pruning to secure health and vigor is necessary, but trimming all kinds of shrubs into 

 one form shows a lack of appreciation for natural beauty, to say the least. Weigelas, Deutzias, Forsy- 

 thias, and Mock Orange flower on the wood of the preceding year's growth, hence the shrubs should not 

 be pruned in Winter or Spring, but in June, after they have finished flowering, when the old wood should 

 be shortened or cut out, thus promoting the growth of the young wood, which is to flower the following 

 season. 



Spiraeas, Lilacs, Althaeas, and Honeysuckles may be trimmed during the Winter or early in Spring, 

 but the branches should only be reduced enough to keep them in good shape. The old growth should be 

 occasionally thinned out and the suckers and root sprouts removed when they appear. The best time, 

 however, for pruning all shrubs is when they have done flowering. The Hydrangea paniculata grandi- 

 flora should be severely cut back and thinned early in Spring. 



PRUNING EVERGREENS 



Use the knife occasionally to thicken the growth and preserve the shape. This can be done in April 

 or May, just before the trees start to grow. 



ORNAMENTAL TREES 



IN FOUR CLASSES 



CLASS I. — A general Descriptive List of Deciduous Trees. 



CLASS II. — A List of Deciduous Weeping or Drooping Trees, described in their respective places in the 

 Catalogue. 



CLASS III. — A List of trees possessing remarkable characteristics of foliage, in three sections — Cut- 

 leaved, Variegated, and Colored, and described in their respective places in the Catalogue. 

 CLASS IV. — Coniferae or Evergreens. 



In order that planters may be able to form an idea of the size which trees and shrubs attain at 

 maturity, a point which should always be taken into consideration at the time of planting, so that 

 the specimens may occupy the proper position, we have adopted letters to denote the proper classes, as 

 follows : 



A denotes trees which attain the largest size, 50 feet and upwards. 



B " " " " " secondary size, 20 to 40 feet. 



C " " " " " medium size, 9 to 15 feet. 



D " " and shrubs which attain only small size, 1 to 8 feet. 

 Our object in the above classification is to lessen the labor and difficulty, as far as possible, of making 

 selections adapted to particular purposes. 



The botanical name of the genus or family, as well as the species or variety, is placed in Full 

 Faced conspicuous type. The English name follows in small capitals. It is to be hoped that with the 

 aid of the complete index of botanical and English names, to be fovmd on the last page, no difficulty will 

 be experienced in finding any tree, shrub, or plant described in the Catalogue. 



