THE ROSE GARDEN. 93 



When the flowers have passed away we shall soon have the satisfaction of 

 seeing the seed-pods swell ; and as they ripen it will be well to devise some means 

 to protect them from birds. I have no direct proof to adduce that they eat 

 them ; but I have often seen the greenfinch feasting on the Sweet-Brier hips, and 

 should these, by any chance, become scarce, or fail, he probably might not object 

 to this slight change of diet. It is important to leave the seed-vessels on the trees 

 as long as possible, and they never should be gathered until quite ripe. It 

 is not enough that they are red : they should, if possible, hang till they groAv 

 black. So soon as gathered, let them be buried in the earth, and, if they have 

 been numbered, pack them separately in small pots, interring the whole in a large 

 pot, or in the ground. 



