Nothing in gardening is so ill understood as pruning. Those who preach prune not at all. have no doubt seen some fearful illustrations of bad work. Those who advocate pruning whenever the knife is sharp, have been taught in the miseries of some neglected orchard. It is indeed safer to prune not at all, than to have a sharp knife in the hands of an ignorant man. Much of the indifference the culture of the dwarf pear has fallen into, came about from the bad mistakes of ignorant pruners. It is not at all uncommon to see a dwarf pear tree with all its young vigorous growth cut away. Nothing but fruit spurs left. All the force is thus sent into the flowering condition in the spring. The trees are mountains of snow-white blossoms; but few fruit follows. A judicious thinning out of weak branches, so as to get a good form to the tree, is about all the pruning required. If there is a tendency to produce an over-proportion of fruit spurs, cut out a good portion of them.

The apple often requires pruning when somewhat advanced in years. The old stunted branches should be cut out now and then, whenever a young and vigorous shoot is inclined to take its place. Peach trees especially love this sort of pruning. The grape-vine, when trained on lattice work or trellises, is very liable to have its strong branches at the end of the vine; and the good pruner is ever on the alert to get a young strong branch up from near the ground. When he can get this, he often takes out an older one weakened by age or bearing, and replaces it with youth and vigor.

The rule in pruning grape-vines, is to shorten the shoots in proportion to their strength; but, if the advice we have given in former summer hints has been attended to, there will be little disproportion in this matter, as summer pinching of the strong shoots has equalized the strength of the vine. Those who are following any particular system will, of course, prune according to the rules comprising such system. As a general rule, we can only say, excellent grapes can be had by any system of pruning; for the only object of pruning in any case is, to get strong shoots to push where they may be desired, or to add to the increased vigor of the shoot, which pruning supposes will follow the act, increased size in the fruit it bears.

Blackberries, raspberries and currants are also much assisted by having the weaker canes thinned out, and those left shortened a fourth or fifth of their length. Gooseberries need thinning, but not shortening.

If time can be spared for washing the trunks of the fruit trees, it is so much the better. It prevents them from becoming hide-bound. Hide-bound trees are often started by poverty or unsuitable soil. Few soils can be too rich for fruit trees; if fertilizers can be had cheap most orchards are benefited by manuring. If the ground beneath the trees be cropped with vegetables or farm produce, manure must be applied. The trees then get some as well as the vegetables. If grass is grown under the trees, unless the land is alluvial, and some food is brought down from the higher land, surface dressing should be given every other year. It is an excellent plan to have orchards in grass, provided care be taken not to let the grass starve the trees.

If one has a specimen orchard of many varieties, in addition to the main one of a few varieties for main crops, he will have much pleasure. The trees are, of course, numbered regularly, and named in the orchard book in case a label gets lost. But each tree is labelled for all. Look over at this season, and see that all labels are legible.

As to vegetables, we cannot do anything without deep soil, and plenty of manure, which the good gardener will always be on the alert to secure.

In the vegetable garden we have few hints to give to those who grow for profit. Few seldom go into the vegetable business until they have had some amateur experience, and after this they know how to make money better than we can tell them. But the amateur may be benefited by what we say, and he can go into the profitable line afterwards.

In managing the vegetable garden, the highest excellence should be aimed at. This is the chief source of pleasure in a garden. If one can take no pleasure in his garden; if the watching of the beautiful processes of nature in furnishing him food, and the many lessons they offer to teach, and which he in a thousand ways can so pleasurably and profitably apply, have no charms or attractions for him, he had better give up gardening; for, assuredly, in most cases - even to ninety-nine in one hundred instances - the market gardener will bring the vegetables to his own door cheaper than he can grow them. Amateur gardening should primarily be pursued for the lessons it teaches, and the pleasure it affords. When it ceases to do this it should be abandoned.