A STROLL THROUGH THE GARDEN JUNE. 
245 
and every way but handsome. This can only 
be prevented by attention while young. If 
a branch shoots out more vigorously than the 
rest, pinch out the end at once, and stop its 
career. At the end of every season cut out 
all the pimping little shoots that grow some- 
times like so much brushwood, to the injury 
of the plant ; and after the bloom has begun 
to decay, and before the fresh growth is made, 
cut back any branch that spoils the general 
form of the shrub, so that the new growth may 
have every chance of being handsome and 
effective. One or two examinations while the 
growth is propagating, will enable you to 
check anything that is growing too exube- 
rantly; and when a plant has been kept 
within bounds a few seasons, it may be fairly 
left to itself, and will not grow very wrong. 
It is only while young that they want con- 
trol, because the branch that grows vigo- 
rously stops the growth of the other portion 
of the plant, and having got the lead, keeps 
it, to the detriment of all that was handsome, 
and of the general form of the plant. Nothing 
is more neglected than this at the great 
Azalea nurseries. There are too many to 
attend to properly, and it is the most difficult 
thing imaginable to select a few handsomely- 
formed plants, well set for bloom, out of hun- 
dreds, and we may say thousands. We cannot 
too strongly urge upon the growers of this 
family to be liberal with water while the plants 
are making their growth, for unless this goes 
on without check, they do not perfect their 
growth, and, consequently, do not set for 
bloom. 
FORMING STANDARD TREES. 
In going over a piece of Azaleas, mark 
those which have been sending forth long 
vigorous branches, whether upright or side- 
ways; they will always be found straight, 
and generally long. Cut away every bit of 
the plant but this strong branch ; dig up the 
root, and in replacing it there or elsewhere, 
set the roots so as to bring this, long shoot 
exactly upright. Here you have a standard 
Azalea at once ; but as the branch will retain 
all its vigorous character, and b« even 
strengthened by the removal of all the rest of 
the plant, it may be stopped at the height it 
already is, by taking off the top of the leader; 
or it may be encouraged to grow taller by 
keeping on the leader, and when it commences 
its growth, cutting off all other branches. 
Whenever the leader is stopped, the lateral 
shoots are encouraged ; and you must promote 
growth where you want it, and stop it where 
you wish to get rid of it, until you have got 
the general form of the head to what you 
please; when, like any other subject that is 
all you want, it maybe moved to its final des- 
tination. Here it may require a little watch- 
fulness, because all growth below the head 
must be checked at once ; every bud that 
appears must be rubbed off before it can rob 
the head of its proper nourishment. No 
branches should be permitted to spring up 
from the ground like suckers; in short, as the 
great feature of these subjects is the head, 
nothing must be allowed that will detract from 
its growth, or interfere with its beauty. In 
plantations of old Azaleas which have been 
crowded, it is very easy to find many that 
will cut up to standards of first-rate form ; 
and this is especially worth the notice of those 
who take to old gardens which they wish to 
modernize. Many plants, of various descrip- 
tions, neglected and grown out of all decent 
form and character as shrubs, may be well 
cut up into standards ; and nurserymen who 
have many subjects grown uncouth, and " out 
of money," as it is called when they are too 
big and too ugly to sell, might advantageously 
turn them to standards ; for it is rare to find 
any shrub that has outgrown its beauty, but 
what may be easily converted to a standai'd 
of some height, either a dwarf standard, a half 
standard, or a whole one. This does not 
apply to Azaleas only, but to many other 
shrubs not usually grown otherwise ; but not 
the less desirable nor the less effective for 
being grown as trees instead of keeping to 
their natural habit. 
A STROLL THROUGH THE GARDEN, 
BY A TUTOR AND HIS PUPIL, IN THE MONTH OF JUNE. 
We will begin our rambles early this month, 
and, as the weather is hot, take the early morn- 
ing in preference to a later period of the day. 
We do not see such a marked difference in 
the houses as we observed in the earlier 
months ; some flowei's have disappeared and 
others come forward. The azaleas are quite 
as full of flower as they were last month, to 
all appearance, but the fact is, they are quite 
another set of plants ; those which were so 
splendid a month ago have passed their bloom, 
and are in the pits making their new growth. 
As soon as their bloom declines, they are 
examined, and pruned where it is necessary ; 
that is, their straggling branches are cut in a 
little, and where they are too crowded, the 
weaker branches are removed ; so if you wish 
a plant to be more dwarf, you may cut it 
down. All this being done before they 
make their new growth, they are greatly 
