98 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 



" Perpetual " varieties, which, with very few exceptions, 

 sustain their " Perpetual " character by only once flower- 

 ing freely, in June, with occasionally a few scattering 

 flowers throughout the summer and fall. While with the 

 monthly varieties, we have not only a monthly, but an 

 almost daily supply of flowers, embracing far more vari- 

 ety of color, from June till November. There is no plant 

 sold, which, for the first season, at least, is so unsatisfac- 

 tory to the buyer as the Perpetual Rose ; the purchaser 

 in good faith believes that its name indicates a perpetual 

 flowering character, and is woefully disappointed to find 

 that the flowers or flower buds which are on it when pur- 

 chased are nearly the last that are seen on it for that sea- 

 son. True, its entirely hardy nature, sustaining it un- 

 scathed through the winter, compensates for the first 

 year's disappointment by a gorgeous bloom in June, but 

 this is all ; for the remainder of the season there is 

 little ornamental about it. On the other hand, the 

 Monthly Rose, the original types of which are natives of 

 China,xare evergreen and ever-blooming, if not arrested 

 by severe frosts, for in the milder latitudes of our South- 

 ern States, they grow and bloom without cessation the 

 entire season, unless, perhaps, for a month or two in ex- 

 tremely dry and hot weather in summer. But now comes 

 the question, Are these Monthly Roses hardy in our 

 Northern States ? They are certainly not so with ordinary 

 treatment, but I will briefly describe a very simple proc- 

 ess by which they can be preserved in as good condition 

 during winter as the hardiest Perpetual or Prairie Rose. 

 The success of the plan, however, depends greatly on the 

 condition of the soil in which they are growing. If it is 

 naturally dry, having a gravelly or sandy subsoil, it is 

 certain to succeed ; but if wet and undrained, they can- 

 not be saved by this or any other process. The operation 

 is to remove three or four inches of soil from one side of 

 the plant close up to the roots, and of a length and width 



