MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES. 435 



CARING FOR TENDER ROSES. 



Having succeeded in wintering 90 per cent of my tea roses for two 

 years where the ground freezes two or three feet and the mercury drops 

 twenty degrees below zero, I feel my experience might be worth some- 

 thing to my rose-loving friends. 



The experience has been dearly bought, and has been the out- 

 growth of many kind personal suggestions from celebrated florists, 

 many of which were a detriment to me. I have a bed of twenty varieties 

 in heavy clay soil raised, or rather drained, by a ditch on one side more 

 than a foot deep, so that no water can stand around the roots in winter 

 Neglect of this has caused me the loss of many pets. I keep the plants 

 healthy and free from all pests by a mixture of Hammond's "slug shot" 

 and "grape dust" applied once a week, regularly. 



The soil is enriched with cow manure mixed with sand, and some- 

 times a little liquid manure. We do not use horse manure at all. Before 

 the fall rains come on, I set over the bed, which is six feet square, a 

 frame two feet high on one side and eighteen inches on the other, made 

 of inch boards and covered by two sliding sashes, which I only open 

 on very pleasant still days from early fall till late iu the spring (May 1st 

 at least), till after the raw winds have gone. I bank up around the 

 boards with a foot of dirt, which I keep up level with the sash. This 

 completes the operation, with the exception of laying over the sash 

 after December 1st, until I uncover in the spring, enough boards to 

 about two-thirds cover them. This protects the plants from too much 

 sun heat, and also free from heavy snows. 



Do not mulch the plants with anything unless you want them to 

 mold or root-rot. 



Do not let any water enter the frame (if heavy soil) from early fall 

 till late in the spring. 



Do not make the mistake, because the sun shines in March or 

 April, of opening the sash. The extra heat will not hurt them half so 

 much as the cold, raw wind. 



Do not be in a hurry to remove the frame or banking after the 

 roses are uncovered in the spring. 



In a word, keep out the water and spring winds and you will have 

 the pleasure of picking roses every week from the middle of May till. 

 Christinas. — A. H. Godard, in Am. Garden. 



