104 NAT. ORDER. ROSACEjE. 



sameness of form, and that form very compact and bushy, prevents 

 them from grouping as Rose plants, and in their flowers : and there- 

 fore to display these beauties to the best advantage, they require to 

 be seen singly, or in succession. This is the case where they occur 

 as single objects on a lawn, or in the centre, or here and there 

 among groups of flowers, or in lines or avenues along flower-walks 

 Suitable Soil. Most species of the Rose, in their wild state, gro\^ 

 in sandy or rather poor soil, excepting such as are natives of woods, 

 where the soil is richer, and comparatively moist. But all the culti- 

 vated Roses, and especially the double-flowering kinds, require a 

 rich loamy soil, inclining to clay rather than sand, and they require 

 also, like most double flowers, plenty of moisture when in a growing 

 state. 



General Culture. To produce strong flowering Roses, requires 

 some attention in pruning : old wood should be yearly cut out, and 

 the young shoots tliinned and shortened, according to their strength, 

 and whether number or magnitude of flowers be wanted. Those 

 sorts which throw out numerous suckers, should be taken up every 

 three or four years, reduced and replanted, and most sorts, excepting 

 the standards, will be improved by this practice, provided attention 

 is sufficiently paid in removing the old soil and replacing it by new. 

 The points of the shoots of the more delicate sorts of Roses, are 

 very apt to die when pruning is performed in winter or spring : to 

 avoid the consequences of this evil, many give a second pruning in 

 June, or do not prune the tender sorts at all, till the beginning of that 

 month. A very good time for performing that operation is immedi- 

 ately after the bloom is over, cutting out old exhausted wood, short- 

 ening shoots which have flowered to a good bud, accompanied with 

 a healthy leaf, but leaving such shoots as are still in a growing state 

 till October. Where very large roses are wanted, all the buds, ex- 

 cept that on the extreme point of each shoot, should be pinched oif 

 as soon as they make their appearance, and the plant liberally sup- 

 plied with water. To lessen evaporation, and keep up a constant 



