MARCH. 
59 
shoot, it made a fine growth the following season; and the tree continued 
to improve every year after, and w T as a nice young specimen in 1860, when 
unfortunately it was one of the few that suffered most from the December 
frost, and was in consequence cut down. 
The Pines require little or no pruning. When a specimen loses its 
lead, some attention is necessary to secure a fresh one without spoiling the 
form of the tree. All loose rambling branches should be kept within bounds 
by timely stopping. 
The Spruce Firs also require little or no pruning, save stopping strag¬ 
gling shoots, and attending to the leads. The Hemlock Spruce, however, 
requires considerable attention in pruning to secure handsome specimens. 
Some of the Silver Firs require a good deal of pruning, especially 
Picea cephalonica and Pinsapo. The young growth of P. cephalonica, like 
that of P. Webbiana and some others, owing to its early budding forth in 
spring, is sometimes killed by the late frosts; and the plants in conse¬ 
quence have a stunted appearance. One of our best specimens here had all 
its young growth killed by a late frost ten years ago, except the leading 
bud, which escaped uninjured. That same season, all the energies of the 
plant being thrown into this single bud, it made a wonderful shoot; and the 
tree lias ever since continued to flourish in a remarkable degree, not a single 
bud having been the least injured since. Since that time I have freely used 
the knife on other plants of this kind. P. Pinsapo does not bud so early in 
spring as P. cephalonica. The young growth is seldom or never injured by 
late spring frosts; but the trees, nevertheless, often grow very stunted and 
bushy, especially when young, and when left untouched or unpruned they 
often remain so for many years. There are several promising young speci¬ 
mens here, all now growing away freely ; but when we got them, they were 
bushy, stunted plants, and for some years after they made little progress 
upwards, the growth of the leading shoots rarely exceeding a few inches in 
length, and in many cases not more than 1 or 2 inches. By a liberal 
use of the knife in well thinning the branches, and directing the energies of 
the plants into the leading shoots, I have now got the greater part of them 
into a free-growing state. This, of all Conifers, requires the most liberal 
use of the knife, for unless the branches are kept well thinned out, the lead¬ 
ing growth is poor, and the plants get a stunted bushy growth. 
There are many kinds of Conifers that require little or no pruning with 
the knife. When properly attended to from a young state, stopping and 
pinching will effect all that is required. 
I would advise all who have charge of extensive and valuable collections 
of Conifers to examine every specimen as often as they can find time to do 
so; they will then see any little matter that needs attending to, such as 
the loss of leading bud or shoot from accident or otherwise, a loss which 
by timely attention is soon repaired without any detriment to the specimen, 
but which if overlooked for some time may not be so easily rectified. 
Stourton. M. Saul. 
ON THE CULTIVATION OF THE STOCK. 
The seed of the finest strains of Stocks is always scarce, and, therefore 
dear. When the double-flowered plants form something like from 70 to 
80 per cent, of the plants, there can be but few single flowers from which 
seed can be obtained; and when it is remembered that in order to fully 
develope and ripen the seeds, it is often found necessary to pinch off one- 
