143 
OPERATIONS FOR JULY. 
From the excessive dryness of the weather since the middle of May, many 
plants that were wished to blossom in the late summer and autumn months will 
now be thrown into a premature state of flowering, and the culturist should there- 
fore occasionally employ himself in examining them, and picking off the flower- 
buds as they appear. By the adoption of this practice, the plants will be induced 
to spread, and form an abundance of young shoots, from which a rich development 
of inflorescence may afterwards be expected ; whereas, without some such tendance, 
the flowers will necessarily be few, feeble, and in very imperfect succession. 
All flowering plants that are not of transient duration, or from which seeds are 
not desired, should have their blossoms removed directly they fade, that no seed- 
vessels may be formed. The preservation of neatness alone would enjoin the 
performance of that duty, as nothing looks more slovenly in a flower-garden or 
greenhouse than long and unsightly stalks, surmounted only with decayed flowers, 
or uninteresting capsules. In small gardens, where particular tidiness is required, 
it may even be desirable to walk round the borders every evening and cut off 
those roses and other flowers which are on the point of shedding their petals, to 
prevent these from being strewn over the earth and walks. But the health of the 
plants is of still more importance, and it is inconceivable to what an extent that is 
insured by taking away those parts which would merely exhaust them without 
adding to their beauty, and indeed, by actually disfiguring them. 
Another object will likewise be gained by this process. Wall-flowers, sweet- 
williams, snapdragons, stocks, and numerous plants, both annual and biennial, will 
often flower twice in the season, in consequence of their seed-vessels being timely 
abstracted. Verbenas, too, and all those charming half-hardy flowers that blossom 
continuously for several months, may be kept in bloom much longer, and have their 
flowers rendered far superior, by a similar proceeding. In short, for all the 
purposes of the cultivator (except seed-saving) the removal of fading flowers is of 
the greatest moment. 
Climbing plants, which are sought to be trained in any direction, must have 
their shoots regulated and fastened at least once a week. If left to become 
entangled, or to grow long in an opposite or different course from that prescribed, 
they can never be relieved or recovered so as to look graceful, and are often much 
injured by restoration to their proper position. It matters not whether they be in 
the house, or on an open wall or trellis ; the same principles of management apply 
in all cases. 
It is observable, also, of every plant that needs supporting by stakes or other- 
wise, that unless these aids are supplied in an early stage of its progress, it will 
always assume a constrained and unnatural appearance, and the leaves cannot be 
