ROSES FOR EXHIBITION. 239 



The situation and the soil for your Briers must 

 be just as carefully studied as though the Roses 

 were already upon them. These stocks are not 

 to be set in bare and barren places, exposed to 

 ridicule and to contempt, as though they were 

 the stocks of the parish ; nor are they to be 

 thrust into corners, as I have seen them many a 

 time. They should occupy such a position as one 

 sees in the snug "quarters" of a nursery — spaces 

 enclosed by evergreen fences, which, somewhat 

 higher than the trees within, protect them from 

 stormy winds. 



Watching their growth in spring, the amateur 

 should remove the more feeble lateral shoots, 

 leaving two or three of the upper and stronger. 

 Suckers from below must also be removed. The 

 latter operation is most easily and effectually per- 

 formed when rain has just softened the soil around ; 

 and weeds, which evince in times of drought such 

 a rooted antipathy to eviction, may then be readily 

 extracted without leaving fibre or fang. 



The stocks may be budded in July, and I 

 advise the amateur who wishes to bud them to 

 learn the art, by no means difficult, not from 



Mr. Cant of Colchester and other nurserymen. I have not as yet 

 sufficient experience to justify any positive edicts, but my presentiment 

 is that this process will prove to be one of the most economical and 

 efficacious of all. 



