VI 



PRUNING 



91 



good blooms, and if a due number be not allowed, the 

 shoots will either run to wood without flower or produce 

 coarse and ill-shaped blooms. And in proportion as a 

 variety or plant is weakly in growth, fewer buds should 

 be left ; because the weak grower has only sufficient 

 strength to supply sap to one or two buds on each shoot, 

 and if more are left the power will not be sufficiently 

 concentrated to form good blooms. The general habit 

 of the variety should therefore be well borne in mind in 

 determining how many buds to leave on each shoot ; 

 remembering always, with a view to the future outline 

 of the plant, to prune to an outlooking bud, and that as 

 a general rule the more a shoot is cut back, the longer 

 will be the growth from the bud left at the top. 



After a warm summer most of the young wood on a 

 well-pruned and healthy plant will be found moderately 

 ripe ; but we occasionally find an extra well-ripened 

 shoot, almost as firm and brown as the old wood, 

 with large plump buds ready to start at the first 

 chance. This is very valuable and plenty of space 

 should be allowed for its development, less ripe shoots 

 being removed to make way for it. On the other hand, 

 we often find gross late unripened shoots, much thicker 

 but greener, with a larger proportion of pith. These are 

 comparatively useless, and should generally be cleanly 

 removed. If a shoot has been injured by frost, and on 

 cutting down to an apparently sound bud the pith 

 appears brown instead of white, it is evident that the 

 injury has gone farther than we supposed, and it will be 

 better if possible to cut a little lower. If any shoot by 

 its unusual size evidently absorbs a large proportion of 

 the whole of the sap, it should be, according to its ripe- 

 ness and the condition of the rest of the plant, either 

 removed altogether, or left a good length and have 



