CHAPTER XXVIII 



MANURES FOR ROSES 



There is probably no detail connected with rose growing 

 that causes the beginner more difficulty than that of 

 manures. There are so many patent mixtures on the 

 market that he is quite bewildered as to what to procure. 

 Again, amateurs do not much care for the somewhat 

 unpleasant work of applying farmyard manure to the 

 soil, so that they have recourse to artificial fertilisers, 

 and, by using them too freely, often cause lasting damage 

 to their plants. Concentrated manures are by no means 

 to be condemned, but they need to be used with care. 



All rose growers are agreed that farmyard manure is 

 an excellent article, but the light, littery manure obtained 

 from town stables is very often of doubtful value, consist- 

 ing, as it does, of little but straw. Well-rotted manure from 

 a farm where it has been trodden down by horses and 

 pigs is ideal for roses, especially for those in heavy clay 

 soil. For light gravelly and sandy soils cow manure is 

 best. An analysis of a ton of farmyard manure shows it 

 to contain about sixteen and a half hundredweights of 

 water and three and a half hundredweights of dry matter. 

 The latter matter includes about twelve pounds of 

 potash and seven pounds of phosphorous, but no lime. 



Lime, however, is a very necessary ingredient in garden 



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