86 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP. 
is always much stronger than the first and will not 
require further encouragement which might make 
the plants grow too late and fail to ripen properly. 
If we put on liquid manure in the winter, no doubt 
a good deal of its virtue is washed away before the 
roots can feed on it; but some of it will remain, 
and I think it is always worth doing. At that time 
it may be supplied much stronger and more concen- 
trated than in the summer without fear of harm. 
As to the manner of application, it may be put on 
by water-pot, pail, or hose, or whatever is quickest, 
provided it soaks in. Unfortunately the surface of 
the soil is often such that the wash and dash close 
the pores of the earth, and the liquid for the 
moment cannot penetrate but runs off. Where 
much watering with hquid manure is contemplated, 
or under any circumstances where the natural soil 
is light and porous and the drainage good, it is best 
to have the surface of the beds below the general 
level of the ground ; the whole can then be flooded, 
as it were. If, however, the beds are somewhat 
raised, and the liquid runs off, there is nothing for 
it but patience; a little at a time, and come back 
again and again to the same place. 
In early spring we may sometimes find an 
occasion, in a light frost, when just the crust of the 
surface is sufficiently frozen to prevent the wash of 
the particles, and the pores remain open; at such 
times, on my beds, the liquid will sink in at once as 
through a sieve as long as you like to pour it on. 
Given the time, and plenty of good stuff, a large 
amount and depth of soil may be fertilised on such 
opportunities. 
Two good rules for watering with liquid manure 
