186 THE AUTUMNAL ROSE GARDEN. 



ney outside (a chimney is indispensable), will give 

 great abundance of forced roses from February to 

 the end of May. To ensure this a supply must 

 be kept ready ; so that, say twenty, may be 

 placed in the forcing- pit about the middle of De- 

 cember, a like number in the middle of January, 

 and the same about the middle of February ; they 

 must not be pruned till taken into the house, 

 when each shoot should be cut back to two or 

 three buds or eyes, the latter for the strong 

 shoots. The fire should be lighted at seven in 

 the morning, and suffered to burn out about the 

 same hour in the evening, unless in frosty wea- 

 ther, when it must be kept burning till late at 

 night, so as to exclude the frost ; and for this 

 purpose double mats should be placed on the 

 lights. The thermometer should not, by fire heat, 

 be higher in the day than 70 during December, 

 January, and February ; at night it may sink to 

 35 without injury. The temporary rise in a 

 sunny day is of no consequence, but no air must 

 be admitted at such times, or the plants will exhaust 

 themselves, and immediately shed their leaves. When 

 the sun begins to have power, and in sunny 

 weather towards the end of February, the plants 

 may be syringed every morning about 10 o'clock 

 with tepid water, and smoked with tobacco at 

 night on the least appearance of the aphis or 

 green-fly. 



To ensure a fine and full crop of flowers, the 



