338 THE ELORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



style of development. But for one's own credit sake it is necessary 

 to explain the reason for these far from creditable circumstances. 

 Possibility of a change of domicile at Christmas, or Lady-day, led 

 to this neglect. I must confess that the propriety of investing in 

 loam or manure, for the benefit of a landlord or successor, by no 

 means commended itself to my mind in these hard times, and so the 

 period of lifting, root-pruning, ground-dressing, etc., was allowed to 

 pass, till the advent of March, without the operation of "flitting" 

 having been accomplished, rendered it too late to deal with the 

 plants secundum artem, and it only remained to make the best of the 

 actual state of things. At this time, moreover, an accident which 

 prevented me from getting about for some weeks, added to the 

 difficulties of the situation. The end of April arrived. Young 

 shoots in full growth ; no- pruning done : indeed, " to prune, or not 

 to prune, that was the question." It is a serious matter to apply 

 the knife in spring to branches with young wood a foot or so in 

 length, already, too, surmounted with buds. To cut these back would 

 have been to sacrifice half the summer bloom ; perhaps to have 

 inflicted a prejudicial check, giving rise to a raging crop of suckers, 

 especially in the manettis. It was, therefore, resolved to leave the 

 piincipal strong shoots with only a little shortening, but to cut out 

 entirely the heart of all the plants, and to extirpate, without re- 

 morse, weak and unhealthy wood. How far this plan has succeeded 

 may be judged from the statement that since June there has been a 

 constant supply of really fine blooms, with the promise of holding 

 out till demolished by the evil genius, Frost. "Friends, ladies, 

 and countrymen," — and countrywomen, too, for that matter — have 

 admired, believed, and participated. A large bunch of roses was 

 brought up from a rose district as a present, evidently not without 

 a secret idea of astonishing our weak nerves ; but it was withdrawn 

 in confusion, and bestowed elsewhere ; a few buds being begged 

 instead. Still it might be urged, Why those weeds ? surely they 

 could have been removed ! But, alas ! I could not stoojy, and had 

 no one to stoop for me ; and so they remained, multiplying ex- 

 ceedingly. Once I had them dug in, but they speedily reappeared. 

 Once I gave a general watering with liquid guano — an ounce to the 

 gallon — and these two operations constitute the whole attention 

 the plants have received since the last summer ; indeed, they have 

 had no manure but liquid manure for three years. 



Another abnormal feature among the roses here has been the 

 total absence of aphides since a very early date. The general 

 invasion of ladybirds might account for this, had they been present 

 in unusual numbers, which has not been the case. Also, there have 

 been no caterpillars, save, in his season, the villanous black grub, 

 which there appears no effectual method of annihilating ; no 

 "cuckoo spit," no red spider; neither has leperous mildew yet don 

 much damage. Bear in mind, in connection with these facts, there 

 has been neither watering nor syringing. 



In the particulars recounted we have evidently conditions totally 

 opposed to the usually recognized axioms for rose-growing, and 

 which ought, therefore, to set us examining what really are the 



