A SIMPLE ROSE GARDEN 123 



is that the stirring of the soil and giving of special fer- 

 tilizers when needful may be unhampered. 



In the ordinary planting of roses by the novice, the 

 most necessary rules are usually the first violated. 

 The roses are generally purchased in pots, with a certain 

 amount of foliage and a few buds produced by forcing. 

 A hole is excavated, we will suppose, in a hardened bor- 

 der of hardy plants that, owing to the tangle of roots, can 

 be at best but superficially dug and must rely upon top 

 dressing for its nutriment. Owing to the difficulty of 

 digging the hole, it is likely to be a tight fit for the pot- 

 bound ball of calloused roots that is to fill it. Hence, 

 instead of the woody roots and delicate fibres being care- 

 fully spread out and covered, so that each one is sur- 

 rounded by fresh earth, they are jammed just as they 

 are (or often with an additional squeeze) into a rigid 

 socket, and small wonder if the conjunction of the two 

 results in blighting and a lingering death rather than 

 the renewal of vitality and increase. 



Evan, who has had a wide experience in watching the 

 development of his plans, both by professional gardeners 

 and amateurs, says that he is convinced more and more 

 each day that, where transplanting of any sort fails, it 

 is due to carelessness in the securing of the root anchors, 

 rather than any fault of the dealer who supplies the 



