220 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP. 
should be taken up cautiously so that it may be 
placed root downwards, and not half of it upside 
down, in the boxes, and will require the weeds and 
erass to be picked from it. 
A much more effective moss is that which grows 
on old thatch or even roof-tiles, but it is apt to lose 
colour, unless kept damp. If it can be found on an 
old north roof, it is much easier to prepare, and has 
a far more velvety appearance than the first kind 
mentioned, which sometimes looks little better than 
badly made hay. 
The trays when trimmed with moss should be 
watered occasionally and kept in the shade. But a 
good overhauling is desirable before a night journey. 
In one very dry season my mossed boxes had been 
kept in the shade and duly watered, with the result 
that two huge slugs each as big as my thumb came at- 
tracted by the damp, and concealed themselves either 
in the moss or underneath the trays. It was either in 
the night journey or during the very early hours of 
rest at the Crystal Palace that one of these brutes 
crawled out and ate away just the top of my very 
best H.P., a large specimen of Her Majesty. 
Boxes and allareready—to-morrow is the dayof the 
show—when shall we cut the blooms ? The distance 
and the convenience of trains will almost answer 
the question, for a start at three or four o’clock in 
the afternoon is by no means unusual for those who 
live at a distance from main lines, and want to show 
on the other side of the country. 
It used to be always laid down that the morning 
of the show is the time to cut, and that those who 
are near enough at hand to do this are at an 
advantage. Modern instances, and especially, I 
