In any case it should not be later than the middle of September, especially if there is a large amount of clipping to be done. If it can be found convenient to start a fortnight or three weeks earlier, so much the better. More especially does this apply to beech or horn-beam, as they finish their growth sooner than the yew, and if they are not clipped immediately, the young shoots get hard and, of course, are more difficult to manage. Where there is enough clipping to keep three or four men at work for nine or ten weeks, the sooner the work is commenced after September comes in the better, as it enables the work to be got through before the severe frosts of winter set in. When the trees are of a large size—a thing that is generally the case in old gardens—scaffolding of some sort will be necessary, and for this purpose there is nothing better than trestles made to close up into as little space as possible, for the double purpose of storing them away in winter or at any time they are not required for use, and for the sake of convenience in carrying them about the garden. The trestles should be made in at least three different sizes, two of each size, or more if necessary. These, with the aid of a single plank laid across two equal sized trestles, will generally suffice for the work. Of course, the plank that is used must be strong enough to carry a man, and wide enough to give him plenty of standing room. If the trees are old and practically perfected in shape, the work of clipping is not such a difficult matter as when the trees are in course of training. But it is usually the case that although many of the trees are old there are young ones coming on that have to be shaped. In the case of old trees, as a general rule, all that is required is to take off the year’s growth; clipping back to the old growth of the previous year. Hard clipping of old trees is a practice that should to a certain extent be carried out, unless it is desired to enlarge the size of the tree. If this is the case, from one inch and a half to two inches of the year’s growth should be left on, but not more. Altering the shape of old trees is a thing that should be avoided as far as possible, especially if the trees are well shaped and in a healthy condition. It sometimes happens that one or more trees in the garden may have been allowed through careless management or some other cause to grow out of shape; or perhaps an old tree may be obscuring the view in some way or other. In the case of such a thing happening, it will be necessary to use the pruning knife or saw rather severely, both of which can be used with perfect safety when they are in the hands of a person who thoroughly understands the yew; provided, of course, he does not go to extremes, the yew is a tree that will stand a fair amount of rough treatment, and one that can be twisted and cut into almost any shape desired. [Illustration: THE POST OFFICE, DITCHEAT, SOMERSET ]