256 THE ROSE BOOK 



with plain water if the weather is dry. Notes should be 

 made as to the behaviour of roses in different positions 

 and on various stocks. These notes will be useful at 

 planting time in autumn. 



Budding standard Briers must be carried out this 

 month. It is useless to attempt budding if the sap is 

 not flowing freely. 



Mildew often obtains a strong hold this month, 

 indeed, roses seem more prone to it now than earlier. 

 Spray with sulphide of potassium or shake green sulphur 

 upon the mildewed parts. 



Top dressings of rotted manure, with a little good 

 artificial fertiliser, such as Clay's, are beneficial to the 

 second crop of blossom. The material should be placed 

 on the soil immediately around the plants to a diameter 

 of about fifteen inches. Growths that have flowered 

 may be cut back to a good bud, removing as few leaves 

 as possible. All dead blooms and seed pods should be 

 removed. The latter are of little use, as they rarely 

 ripen, and they are a considerable strain upon the re- 

 sources of the plant. This is the time for layering roses. 

 One only needs to perform the work carefully, and as 

 detailed in another chapter, to succeed with the majority 

 of roses. As the early flowering Ramblers go out of 

 bloom, it is well to cut out some of the old growths in 

 order to give the young shoots a better chance. This 

 should be done cautiously The Multiflora roses, repre- 

 sented by Crimson Rambler, need more of the old wood 

 removed annually than the Wichuraiana roses, repre- 

 sented by Dorothy Perkins. If this pruning is carried 



