y as possible
to supplement its natural stem. Therefore cut the stake a little shorter
than the top of the foliage and drive it firmly at the back of the
plant, fastening the main stem to the stake by loosely woven florist's
string.

If, on the other hand, the plant to be supported is a maze of side
branches, like the cosmos, or individual bushes blended so as to form a
hedge, a row of stout poles, also a little lower than the bushes, should
be set firmly behind them, the twine being woven carefully in and out
among the larger branches, and then tightened carefully, so that the
whole plant is gradually drawn back and yet the binding string is
concealed.

If it is possible to locate cosmos, hollyhocks, and Dahlias (especially
Dahlias) in the same place for several successive years, a flanking
trellis fence of light posts, with a single top and bottom rail and
poultry wire of a three inch mesh between, will be found a good
investment. Against this the plants may be tethered in several places,
and thus not only separate branches can be supported naturally, but
individual flowers as well, in the case of the large exhibition Dahlias.

[Illustration: A TERRIBLE EXAMPLE!]

Practicable as is the proper carrying out of the matter, in a score of
otherwise admirable gardens we have seen the results of weeks and months
of preparation either throttled and bound martyrlike to a stake or
twisted and tethered, until the natural, habit of growth was wholly
changed. In some cases the plants were so meshed in twine and choked
that it seemed as if a spiteful fairy had woven a "cat's cradle" over
them or that they had followed out the old proverb and, having been
given enough rope, literally hanged themselves. In other gardens green
stakes were set at intervals (I noticed it in the case of gladioli and
carnations especially) and strings carried from one stake to the other,
leaving each plant in the centre of a twine square, like chessmen
imprisoned on the board. But the most terrible example of all was where
either the owner or the gardener, for they were not one and the same,
had purchased a quantity of half-inch pine strips at a lumber yard and
proceeded to scatter them about his beds at random, regardless of height
or suitability, very much as if some neighbouring Fourth of July
celebration had showered the place with rocket sticks.

If your young German has time in the intervals of tree-planting and
trellis-making, get him to trim