24 The Canadian Horticulturist. 



carefully with as large a ball of earth as possible and set it in a tub or box, in 

 which it may be removed to the cellar. Give only a sufficient amount to kee}) 

 the leaves from falling, and in the spring, when the weather has become warm, 

 return it to the garden again. 



There are many varieties of this old favorite, all beautiful — both single and 

 double, all deliciously fragrant. Among the best are Prof. Durand, double white 

 flowers with creamy white throat ; lutea, single yellow ; gloriosum, double carmine 

 pink ; Kenwood, large, double rose ; purpureum simplex, purple. 



The sap of the oleander is poisonous ; children should not be allowed to 

 play with the broken stems or leaves, and they should be kept out of the reach 

 of cattle and horses. — Vick's Magazine. 



SOIL FOR ROSES. 



The best soil or compost that I know of for roses is fibry sod from a pasture 

 and of a medium heavy texture, that is, a soil neither light nor yet the extreme 

 of heaviness. Sod taken from a very old pasture, or a piece of land that has 

 been lying idle for a number of years without being grazed or mown, is very 

 liable on being rotted down to be really too light for roses, and after being in 

 the beds for a few months will somewhat resemble leaf-mould. Experience in 

 that line has caused me to fight somewhat shy of sod taken from idle pieces of 

 land that has not been grazed or mown for years. The accumulation of veget- 

 able matter in the way of grasses, mosses, leaves and other herbage, gives it that 

 leaf-mould appearance when thoroughly rotted down, and it is too light. Having 

 procured a suitable sod and a supply of pure cow manure, it is best to stack or 

 pile it to rot. If wanted to use in April or May, or June, it ought to be stacked 

 in August to have it sufficiently rotted. It is a hard matter to lay down any 

 rules for the proportions of manure to use to the quantity of sod, for the reason 

 that the nature of the soil itself varies in so short a distance. The guide that I 

 follow is simply this : Knowing where it is procured, I take into consideration 

 the nature of the grass crops or pasturage raised from it. For instance, if from 

 hay-land, which has yielded a fairly good crop, of course it stands to reason that 

 such sod will not require- such quantities of manure as sod taken from a piece of 

 impoverished land. Thus while in some instances it is only necesssary to use^ 

 say, one-fourth, in others it is absolutely necessary to use one-half manure. It 

 should always be borne in mind that roses require a good rich soil. I don't 

 know of any instance where the gardener has to use common sense and judg- 

 ment more than in the selection of soil for rose growing. — American Florist. 



" Kate, what's become of the porous plaster I left in that desk ? " " Porous 

 [)laster ! Why I thought it was one of liiose new postage; stamps, and I put it 

 on a letter to ma." — Life, 



