FOURTH WEEK IN JULY 



are dead, when the turfs can be pulled to pieces, or chopped 

 up with a spade at the time of planting. At the bottom of 

 the broad and wide hole which must be dug for each plant, 

 drainage of broken crocks and ashes may be necessary in 

 wet localities. Over this the turfy loam should be placed, 

 laying over it a few inches of fine loam, in which the roots 

 of the rose should be extended in their natural position, as 

 horizontally as possible. The too common plan of inserting 

 the roots of a rose perpendicularly in a small hole (as though 

 it were a cabbage) is responsible for many failures ; and it is 

 equally fatal to fill in the hole with rank manure, which is 

 sure to set up canker in the roots of the plant, and so 

 seriously weaken, if not destroy it. Slaked lime should 

 always be added to the compost for a rose, as it is very 

 purifying and sweetening to the soil, enabling the rose to 

 absorb its elements as food. Soot, too, is a suitable addition 

 to a rich mulch of hot-bed material for the spring, but it 

 should not be given at the same time as lime, as they 

 chemically disagree. 



Having soaked the roots of the rose in lukewarm water 

 for half an hour, they should be spread out in fan-shape, 

 covering them with a few inches of fine loam, and treading 

 them fimly into the soil, taking care that the collar of the 

 plant (i.e., the point at which the stem and roots meet) is 

 about an inch below the soil. If too deeply covered, the 

 rose will not thrive ; yet if the collar, which is a tender part 

 of the plant, be exposed, it will probably decay, and the rose 

 will die. In filling up the hole after planting, it is desirable 

 to raise the soil about 3 inches above the rest, as it is sure 

 to settle down, and if made level will quickly sink and so 

 accumulate water around the rose, which is very injurious to 

 newly-planted roots, especially in winter. No mulch of 

 manure should be spread on the surface of the rose in 

 autumn, for the old idea that this afforded warmth is a 

 mistake, and dormant roots require no extra nourishment. 

 The shoots of the rose should be at once fastened to the 

 wall or the arch on which they are to grow, for wild 

 autumnal winds soon injure them, and the plants, if well put 



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