PRUNING AND TRAINING, 
23 
the lighter and more sanely loam is the better, as it will 
require less peat and sand to be mixt with it. A cer¬ 
tain quantity of sand is always a proper ingredient in 
mould to be used in potting or shifting Plants. If the 
garden has no sandy loam, scouring sand should be 
used, but for many shrubby Plants it will require 
washing to get out the salt. 
PRUNING AND TRAINING. 
Perhaps the greatest defect in Plants grown in 
rooms or conservatories is the want of pruning and 
training, for when that is omitted the Plants grow up 
tall, crooked, and unsightly objects. Now the beauty 
of a Plant consists as much in the habit of its growth 
and its symmetry and neatness, as in the Flowers. 
Many persons are afraid to cut off any part of a Plant 
for fear it should not grow out again, but when leaves 
have grown on any part of the stem, buds are formed 
at the axils of the leaves, on their stem, and as long as 
the stem continues to grow upwards, the leaves drop 
off below, leaving a long naked stem, particularly Ger¬ 
aniums, and other Plants of free growth, and the buds 
upon the stem remain dormant. Thus when the top 
of the plant or any part of the stem is cut off, the buds 
on the remaining stem will be excited, and grow out, 
making a fine bushy plant. When plants are young 
and growing, they should be tied up to neat sticks to 
