THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 297 



description of archway or avenue, upon entering which the whole 

 coup d'ceil of the fairy and fragrant region should present itself to 

 the view. It should be surrounded by shrubs and trees beyond, 

 suggesting the idea of unexplored and still more enchanting glades. 

 Nor is a fountain falling into a lily-bordered basin an inappropriate 

 centre for a rosery ; nor should trellised arbours, overrun with fra- 

 grant blooms, be wanting to the place, nor nestling temple, if not 

 too pretentious. Plenty of well-kept turf, too, should abound on 

 every side. The character of the rosery also may be very diverse — 

 rural and luxuriant, Italian and precise ; but whatever arrangement 

 may be carried out, to speak artistically, it must always be in good 

 keeping. 



Beds for the cultivation of roses may be of numerous forms, 

 either sunk in panels amidst grass, or raised above the surrounding 

 level, in framework of burrs or clinkers from the brickfield, sur- 

 faced with rock-plants and mosses, the variegated periwinkle, and 

 other trailers ; or they may be constructed at the summit of sloping 

 banks of turf. In this situation they may be pegged down, or trained 

 short and thick against a low wire at the back, forming a beautiful 

 separating line or hedge where required. Slightly-raised beds are 

 advantageously ; employed for the purpose of pegging down. Kam- 

 pant and rambling kinds, which throw out long shoots, are the best 

 fitted for this method of training, which has the additional merit of 

 increasing the cultivator's stock of plants by a species of layering 

 process, almost all the branches rooting where pegged into the soil. 

 Pincushion beds are usually too stifl" and formal to satisfy the artistic 

 eye ; but there are some situations in which they may be tolerated, 

 it not approved. In such, however, every art should be used to 

 break up their onop-stich appearance, by training them umbrella 

 fashion, even to the ground, converting them into fairy fountains of 

 flowers, and some pretty dwarf edging, such as Cerastium tomento- 

 sum, should define and finish the outline of the bed. Talking of 

 fountains of flowers, why should we not' attempt a rosy cataract, 

 training the plants doiumvards, over walls or banks, where, for 

 instance, the earth on one side is high and the other low y There are 

 abundant situations where such a mode of dealing with our favourites 

 is quite practicable, and where the eftect would be as delightful as 

 novel. 



To make a rose pyramid the soil should be specially prepared of 

 rich feeding power, capable of sustaining the inevitable exhaustion 

 of its nutritious qualities by the number of plants requisite to pro- 

 duce an eftect. In this style of growing the rose, two feet of sur- 

 face room is the most that ought to be allowed to each plant, so that 

 the combined heads may produce an abundant mass of foliage 

 gaily interspersed with blooms. If a rose pyramid be desired, some 

 extra vigorous variety should be selected, such as Jaune Desprez or 

 Gloire de Dijon, budded upon a strong, straight stem, six or seven 

 feet high, well supplied with robust shoots on all sides from the 

 work ; this is to form the centre of the structure. From this the 

 plants are to decrease in height row by row, contrasting colour with 

 judgment, and carefully adjusting habit to secure uniformity of 



