CULTIVATION OF ROSES IN POTS. 6i9 



pots be well drained with from one inch to an inch and a half of broken crocks, 

 used in large rough pieces, having the concave side downwards. The pots should 

 not be over large, — from six to eight inches inside the rims will be sufficient, 

 according to the size of the plant, condition of its roots, &c. 



C024. Following the directions of Mr. Saul, in which every confidence maybe 

 placed, the plants, when potted, should be plunged to their rims in cold 

 ashes, or any garden soil, on an inverted flowerpot, leaving a cavity underneath 

 each to prevent the ingress of worms. In this state they should remain till 

 about the middle of May, when they will require a shift. The same soil as 

 before should be used, but, if possible, more rough, and they should be again 

 plunged to the i-im. During summer they will require constant attention as 

 to watering ; they should have liquid manure at least once a week, using 

 soft water at other times. The best liquid manure is the drainage of dung- 

 hills, sheep- or cow-dung, steeped in water, and drawn off clear. Guano 

 is excellent, but it requires great caution in using, owing to its variable 

 quality. If, therefore, it is used, err on the safest side, and give it weak,— half 

 a pound of guano to eight or ten gallons of water. During summer the plants 

 require constant attention in taking off all suckers as they appear, as well as 

 all flower-buds, they not being intended to bloom this season. If the plants 

 are too crowded with wood, they should be thinned out moderately, so that the 

 remaining shoots may the better perfect their growth. All strong, gross, or 

 watery shoots, should have their extreme points pinched off before they get 

 long, — say at six or eight inches : they will soon break out afresh, and add to 

 the bushiness of the plant. If all goes well, these plants will, about the 

 beginning of August, require another shift, which should not be over large. 

 They must be treated in every respect as before until the end of September, 

 when they should be shifted into their blooming-pots. 



2025. The delicate varieties, such as the Bourbons, Noisettes, Teas, Chinas, 

 should be procured and planted in spring, and put in a cold frame or pit, 

 and kept rather close for a few days or a week until the plants recover from 

 the effects of the journey ; after which they must have abundance of air, and 

 in about a fortnight they may be safely shifted. The best soil is that recom- 

 mended above for others ; namely, rough turfy loam and well-decomposed 

 cow-dung, with the addition of from one-fourth to one-third leaf-mould. 

 This soil is especially suitable for the delicate Teas, &c. : strengthening food 

 can be given in the shape of liquid manure during the season of gi-owth. 

 This shift should not be a liberal one ; but the size of the pots must b© 

 regulated by the size of the plants, the state the roots are in, or whether 

 they are Bourbons or Teas, as the former will, in general, take a more 

 liberal shift than the latter. When potted, they must be put in a cold 

 pit, and kept near the glass, running the lights off every fine day, 

 and tilting them up in bad weather, in order to give the plants as much 

 air as possible. At night the lights must be kept on until the middle of 

 May, for fear of spring frosts. From the second to about the third week 

 in May, the lights should be considerably tilted at night, after which they 



