PRUNING, TKAININCi, AND BEDDING. 99 



of these three words upon all those who love well-grown 

 and beautiful roses. They are, indeed, multum in parvo 

 — the very essence of successful culture. The soil cannot 

 be plowed, dug, or stirred too much ; it should be dug 

 and hoed, not merely to keep down the weeds, but to en- 

 sure the health and prosperity of the plant. Cultivation 

 is to all plants and trees manure, sun, and rain. It opens 

 tlie soil to the nutrition it may receive from the atmosphere, 

 to the beneficial influence of light, and to the morning and 

 evening dew. It makes the heavy soil light, and the light 

 soil heavy ; if the earth is saturated with rain, it dries it ; 

 if burned up with drought, it moistens it. Watering is 

 often beneficial, and is particularly so to roses just before 

 and during the period of bloom ; but in an extremely dry 

 season, if we were obliged to choose between the water- 

 ing-pot and the spade, we should most unhesitatingly give 

 the preference to the latter. 



We do not wish, however, to undervalue the benefits 

 of water. If the plants are well mulched with straw, 

 salt hay, or any other litter, frequent watering is very 

 beneficial. When not mulched, the watering should al- 

 ways be followed by the hoe, in order to destroy the bak- 

 ing of the surface. While the plmts are in a growing 

 state, liquid manure will give a larger and a finer bloom. 

 This liquid manure may be made with soapsuds, or the 

 refuse from the house. When these are not easily ob- 

 tained, half a bushel of cow or horse dung can be placed 

 in a barrel, which can then be filled with water, well 

 stirred up, and allowed to settle a day or two before being 

 used. 



For those who are willing to incur the expense, a very 

 nice way of applying pure water is to sink ordinary tile, 

 two inches in diameter, Avith collars, about a foot below 

 the surface, around and through the rose bed. An elbow 

 from this, coming to the surface, can convey the water 

 into the pipes, through the ioints of which it will escape, 



