54 CULTURE OF THE ROSE. 



pains, he may apply to numberless other forms of culture. 

 Learn to produce a first-class specimen of the rose grown 

 in a pot, and you will have no difficulty in successfully 

 applying your observation and experience to a vast variety 

 of plants. We will, therefore, enter into some detail as to 

 the methods of procedure. For many of the specific direc- 

 tions I am indebted to Mr. Paul, the exhibiter of the fine 

 specimens named above, and the author, among other 

 books, of a useful little treatise on the cultivation of roses 

 in pots. 



Soil is the point that first demands attention, and direc- 

 tions concerning it have already been given. You have 

 bought a number of young roses, in small pots, in the 

 spring. Be sure that these roses have been in a dormant 

 state during the winter; for, if they have been kept in 

 growth, their vital power is partially exhausted. They may 

 be budded on short stems of the Manetti or other good 

 stock (see the chapter on Budding)^ or they may be on 

 their own roots. The Tea and China roses are certainly 

 better in the latter condition. Shift them from the small 

 pots into pots a very little larger, without breaking the 

 ball of earth around their roots. Water them well, and 

 plunge them to the edge of the pot in earth, in an open, 

 airy, sunny place. Or they may be set on the surface, 



