SUMMER MEETING. 35 



Spring is the best time for transplanting from the green-house or 

 •cold-frame, and not until after the 20th of April, setting the plants 

 from twelve to eighteen inches apart. I prefer, as a rule, to get my 

 plants from the home tiorists, so that I can select them myself, and 

 then, too, the ball of earth does not have to be removed, and the 

 plants are sure to live. I water freely when planting, afterward as my 

 judgment dictates and according to the season. 



Like ever;^thing else in nature, this royal beauty has its enemies. 

 In this climate the green aphis and the slug are the worst. The green 

 aphis is easily gotten rid of by spraying with the hose or rose-watering 

 pot. But the slug is harder to manage. A few applications of some 

 insecticide will exterminate it, however. Several recipes are given in 

 the guide books: kerosene emulsion, tobacbo solution, tobacco insec- 

 ticide soap, whale oil soap and white hellebore. I prefer the white 

 hellebore as being the simplest, cleanest and most pleasant to use. 

 One table-spoonful of the powder to a gallon of warm water, prepared 

 overnight and the plants sprayed in the morning with a rose-watering 

 pot proves an effectual remedy. Generally two applications are suf- 

 ficient, frequently only one is required. If the plants are kept in a 

 vigorous and healthy condition they are less liable to the ravages of 

 insects. I do not use any of the prepared fertilizers, but keep a com- 

 post heap, on which I put leaves, rakings from the yard, manure, etc., 

 stirring occasionally. I sometimes use wood ashes sparingly. It is a 

 good plan to save the soap-suds from the laundry and pour around the 

 roots of the plants. It helps to destroy worms and insects in the soil, 

 and is also a good fertilizer. It is good for sweet peas, nasturtimus, 

 asters and other plants, as well as roses. In winter I pour the suds 

 on the compost heap. It is hardly necessary to say that the beds and 

 borders must be kept free from weeds, watered daily during the dry 

 season and the soil about the roots stirred frequently. 



Roses are very susceptible to climatic changes, and in this latitude 

 are better for winter protection. Bat one must be careful not to pro- 

 tect too much nor too early. Tarf makes the best covering ; but when 

 that cannot be obtained, the next is to heap soil about the roots, and 

 cover with leaves or straw, or both. One should discriminate in the 

 use of leai^es. The leaves of the soft maple should be used sparingly, 

 as the texture is so fine they decay rapidly and hold too much mois- 

 ture ; they are fine for the compost heap. The hard maple and oak 

 leaves are better; indeed, with the soil they afford excellent protection. 

 The last of November is early enough, as a rule, to cover with leaves 

 and straw. The soil may be put on earlier, and the covering should 

 not be removed too early in the spring. Like winter protection, prun- 



