LITTLE GARDENS 



den, for it bears abundance of pink and white 

 flowers, bright and cheerful in color quality, and 

 single or double, as may chance; while its big 

 red haws are almost as decorative as flowers. 

 Our common wild rose or sweet-brier is one of 

 the pleasantest of familiars, and one of the most 

 fragrant; but it is not lasting, and it can not be 

 cut for bouquets, which facts, no doubt, have 

 prevented it from gaining a hold in our gardens 

 it might otherwise deserve. Whatever roses we 

 employ, it is best to group them into beds or 

 clusters, or keep them near the fence, if the 

 ground is small. In November they will endure 

 the cutting out of weak growths, and in the 

 spring, of sprawly new ones. Some gardeners 

 cut down all roses to within a few inches of the 

 ground, at the coming on of winter. Though 

 my own roses have defied cold weather, it is sa- 

 fest to wrap the stems in sacks when snow is due, 

 to heap earth above the roots, and strew old 

 manure and straw over the beds. A spring 

 manuring does more good than fertilizing in the 

 fall, but the snow covers from sight what is 

 never pleasant, while In the spring the plant 

 food asserts itself to at least two senses. 

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