234 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES. 



" Contra vim mortis, 

 Non est medicamen in hortis," 



that in some soils it grows feebly, and in some 

 grows not at all. 



Nevertheless, the superiority of this stock for 

 Roses in ordinary soil — that is, in most of our 

 English gardens — is now, I believe, decisively 

 proved by the introduction of" the seedling Brier." 

 It occurred to Mr. Prince of Oxford (whether the 

 idea be new or not is of no consequence), that by 

 growing Briers from seed, and budding them just 

 within the soil, he should not only obtain a large 

 mass of roots intact and uninjured, instead of the 

 few lacerated fibres which pertain to the unhappy 

 hockey-sticks, " yarked" anyhow from the hedges, 

 but also should give to the Rose itself (as in the 

 case of the Manetti) tlfc opportunity of making 

 roots of its own. 



For four years I have carefully, impartially, 

 and extensively practised this system of growing 

 Roses, and the results have expelled all doubt from 

 my mind. It is the best. Not the quickest, not 

 the easiest, not (so far as the first outlay is con- 

 cerned, though in the end) the cheapest, but the 

 most effectual and enduring method of producing 

 beautiful Roses. Here is one of my proofs : In 



