I JO FLORA AND SYLVA 
Pruning. — Lilacs are too often ne- 
glected in this way though few shrubs 
are better worth pruning, without which 
they are apt to become a tangled mass 
of shoots and we do not get the fine 
full thyrses of bloom that are seen in 
French gardens. On fading, the flowers 
should be removed, and the small and 
weak shoots also if the plants are too 
" stalky," the aim being to secure 
healthy and open growth during sum- 
mer. Cutting back in winter is wrong, 
because the flowers are produced on the 
wood of the previous year, and cutting 
back to a stifl* ugly outline does not 
deserve the name of pruning. To prune 
is to help the natural shape of the bush 
and let the light into it, so that it can 
concentrate its energy on a number of ' 
strong flowering-shoots. I 
Soil. — -We read sometimes that the 
Lilac will do in any soil, and so it may 
in some districts where the soil is warm \ 
and good, as in much of Ireland where 
the Rouen Lilac, commonly called the 
Persian, makes such lovely trees. In 
certain heavy soils Lilacs are slow in 
growth and do not ripen their wood j 
well or flower so freely as in soils of an i 
open nature. If we are not so fortunate | 
as to possess this open soil we must j 
make it so if the Lilacs are to do well. | 
Cold places in valleys are not so good 
for them, especially where heavy soil j 
occurs, because being early, the bloom j 
is often caught by late frosts. There- i 
fore, in addition to warm soil we should 
try and secure positions not too low 
down and somewhat sheltered . Coming 
from a warmer and sunnier land than 
our own — -Transylvania and the regions 
near — very cold soils and situations are 
against success. 
Increase. — Lilacs grow freely from 
seed, if sown as soon as ripe. Cuttings 
are best made from the young wood in 
early summer, struck in sand on a hot- 
bed where they root in six to eight 
weeks. Layering should be done in 
early autumn, or suckers may be taken 
in spring and root readily. When once 
we have the Lilac on its own roots, 
increase from suckers is easier than the 
common nursery way, though some 
kinds sucker less freely than others. 
Layers are the best for high-class work. 
As to grafting, though the Common 
Lilac is far better than the fatal and 
ugly Privet, it is not so good as " own 
roots," for there is always the chance 
of finding flowers of a choice variety 
mixed up with those of the common 
kind. Beside this, where the flower- 
garden has any such collection of shrubs 
and flowers as we now possess, the 
gardener has no time for the labour of 
watching and removing suckers, which 
in a rational system of propagation do 
not trouble him. 
The Best Kinds. — Though some of 
the old varieties were beautiful — even 
the Common Lilac when well-grown — 
to have a good Lilac-time it is essential 
to have the newer varieties raised in 
France and remarkable for their size, 
and range of colour. The best are: — 
Singles. White — Marie Legraye^ 
Pri?icess Alexa7jdra^ Frau Da^nmann^ 
Madame Moser^ alba pyi^amidalis. 
Pink — Dr. Regel^ Eckenholm^ Filrst 
Liichtenstein^ Schermerhornii^ yacques 
Cal/ot^^indi Lovafiensis. Dark flowers — 
