46 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP. 
man, with a fair fall, and outfalls not neglected, but 
watched, cleared, and properly attended to. The 
deep, red, adhesive loam of some parts of Hereford- 
shire has always seemed to me to be the perfection 
of Rose soil, and in the best loam the best Roses of 
all sorts may and should be grown. 
On one occasion, when dining at a friend’s house, I 
had some plum-pudding handed me, of the modern 
type, very dark, rich, strong, and greasy. I declined 
it, but regarded it curiously and with interest, my 
thoughts wandering elsewhere. My hostess, noticing 
my earnest gaze, asked me if I saw anything the 
matter with it. Without thinking, and naturally 
with somewhat unfortunate results, I blurted out 
the truth : ‘Oh, no: I was thinking what rare stuff 
it would be to grow Roses in” ! 
GRAVEL.—Soil known as gravelly is often too 
quickly condemned. It is considered healthy to live 
on, agreeable to work, and useful for many things, 
but too hot, poor, and dry for the cultivation of the 
best Roses; still, as I have had to grow most of my 
own in such a medium, condemned after careful 
examination by one of the best judges as hopeless, 
I can aver that there is no reason. to despair of a 
gravel soil. 
There will be some soil at least, light, dry, and 
powdery perhaps, but fairly fertile, on the top above 
the gravel, and this, probably the full depth of the 
spade in the garden but not so deep in the field, 
should be taken out and laid on one side. Though 
not the soil the Rose delights in, it is excellent for 
root formation, for the striking of cuttings, for 
placing next to the roots of Roses, and for mixing 
with heavy loam or clay in the making up of the beds. 
