CULTURE. 6 1 



in hot weather, it also stops that rapid evapora- 

 tion which would otherwise take place, so often 

 rendering watering useless. This practice is, after 

 all, only imitating nature ; for the Dog Eose, 

 upon which all the fine varieties are grafted, 

 grows naturally in woods and shady places ; con- 

 sequently, its roots are impatient of exposure in 

 hot dry soils and situations, and prefer firm un- 

 dug surface-manured borders. 



Hybrid China roses, as pillar roses, require also 

 a superabundance of manure and some attention ; 

 but they will amply repay it, for a column twelve 

 to fifteen feet high, covered with such roses as 

 Brennus, Blairii, Chenedole, and a few others, 

 would be one of the finest garden ornaments it is 

 possible to conceive. To make them grow with 

 the necessary luxuriance, each plant should have 

 a circle, at least three feet in diameter, to itself ; 

 in the centre of this circle, a stout stake of yellow 

 deal, tarred at the bottom, should be inserted two 

 feet deep, so as to stand eight feet out of the 

 ground ; tins part may be painted green. If the 

 soil be poor, it should be dug out three feet in 

 depth, and filled up with rotten manure and 

 loam : this compost must belaid considerably (say 

 one foot) above the surface of the surrounding 

 soil, so as to allow for settling ; in wet soils the 

 plants will grow the better for being on a perma- 

 nent mound ; but such soils should always be 

 drained. Plant a single plant in the centre of 



