THE ROSE GARDEN. 95 



a little sand. The pans must now be set in the best spot we can find for them ; 

 in a cold frame or green-house, if accessible, where they should be kept in a state 

 of equable moisture. Here they will vegetate as out of doors, and in autumn or 

 spring may be transplanted as the others. 



If it be the intention to sow in the open borders, a sunny but sheltered situation 

 should be chosen : the aspect should be east, that the young plants may not be 

 fatigued with the afternoon's sun. When preparing the ground for sowing, the 

 soil should be well loosened with a fork or spade to the depth of eighteen inches 

 or two feet, and made light and rich, the top being broken up fine, and laid level 

 with a rake. If drills are preferred, draw them about six inches apart : if broad- 

 cast sowing, the ground is already prepared. 



It is advisable to sow rather thick, for, in general, not one-fourth of Rose-seeds 

 vegetate, and of these only a portion the first year. After the seed is sown, the 

 earth should be trodden down or beaten with a spade, and watered, if dry, and 

 covered afterwards with from half an inch to an inch of light free soil. Care must 

 be taken to keep the earth moderately moist. About April some of the seeds will 

 germinate, and others will continue to do so throughout the summer and autumn. 

 So soon as they are seen peeping through the soil means must be taken to protect 

 them from slugs, birds, and worms. 



Slugs have a great liking for seedling Roses, and will, unless prevented, eat them 

 off close to the ground when rising, which usually involves their destruction. To 

 guard against these pests, scatter soot or lime over the bed, which acts as a safe- 

 guard, and at the same time promotes the growth of the plants. Birds will occa- 

 sionally pull them up when just sprouting forth ; and whether this is done to 

 satisfy the palate, or merely from the love of mischief, I cannot determine ; but 

 however it may be, we are equally the sufferers. The best scare-crow I can find is 

 glass. Let a stick be stuck in the ground in a bending position, from the end of 

 which two pieces of glass should be suspended with bast or twine, so that they 

 dangle in the ah- : striking together with every breeze, they keep up a musical 

 chaunt around the seedlings which the feathered plunderers seem unable to account 

 for, and the most daring depredators are content to sit and chirrup at a distance. 



Worms are often a great nuisance among seedlings, throwing up heaps of soil, 

 which smother the young plants ; and sometimes they drag them into the earth, 

 which destroys them. The best remedy here is lime water, applied two or three 

 evenings consecutively in dry weather. If the seeds vegetate very earlv, the 

 young plants must be protected from the spring frosts ; and hooping the beds over 

 with osiers and covering with a mat offers perhaps the simplest and most efficient 

 means of doing this. 



So soon as the seeds vegetate, the young plants require constant attention as 

 to shading, watering, and weeding, as well as protection from their enemies. 

 This will be cheerfully given, when the cultivator reflects that, by this care, many 

 of the autumnals will be induced to flower the first year. This, however, holds 



