NATIONAL KOISE CONFERENCE. 



1G7 



there were still a great many large standards of summer roses, 

 each of which was a study in itself for the primer's art. 



Instruments. 



First, then, as to the instruments. A primer of the old 

 school would condemn the use of scissors, be horrified to see a 

 shoot cutoff square, and would consider the neat, smooth, sloping 

 cut of a sharp knife to be the only legitimate appearance, and he 

 would also perhaps scorn the use of gloves and think he could 

 do his work better without them. This last point must be a 

 matter of taste, but it is useless to deny that roses have thorns, 

 which are especially hard and sharp at pruning time ; and it is 

 well to remember that in using a knife, especially with budded 

 roses of one year's growth, the plant must be firmly held with 

 the left hand, or a serious breakage is very apt to occur. 



Two good knives, an oilstone, a regular pair of pruning 

 scissors, and a kneeling mat for dwarfs, will probably prove a 

 sufficient equipment. One of the kniyes should have a strong 

 blade, the other a narrower and smaller one. The hone 

 should be carried about, and not left behind, or the tearing 

 off of a valuable branch will soon be the result of a blunted 

 blade. The scissors will be useful for very small shoots, and 

 sometimes for very large ones, and especially handy for bits 

 of dead wood in awkward positions; in the two last cases 

 the cuts should afterwards be trimmed and smoothed with a 

 kuife. For kneeling on the cold wet soil I have found a 

 piece of waterproof about 18 inches square more satisfactory 

 and less tiring than kneecaps ; and remember that the 

 weight of the body will bring moisture through any alleged 

 waterproof that has not an actual skin of india-rubber. 



The Season of the Year. 



Next as to the time of year. Some recommend a certain 

 amount of thinning in early autumn, to ensure the ripening 

 of the remaining shoots ; but this may sometimes have the 

 effect of causing low dormant buds to push, which is un- 

 desirable ; it certainly lessens the number of our autumn 

 blooms, probably checks the root-power, and the benefit gained 

 does not seem to be large. 



We may commence with roses trained on south walls 

 about the middle of February, and the pruning of H.Ps. and 



