ROSES THAT BLOOM THE WHOLE SEASON. 107 



position. If the soil is naturally sandy, it will only 

 require to be enriched by manure, or plenty of 

 black decomposed leaves from the woods, in which 

 they will grow in wild luxuriance ; but if the soil 

 is heavy and clayey it should be thrown out to the 

 depth of twenty inches ; six inches of the bottom 

 should be filled up with rough rubbish, such as 

 stones, brickbats, or branches of trees ; over these 

 place sixteen inches of prepared soil, which will 

 allow for settling. Two or three weeks after the 

 bed is prepared the roses may be planted. In the 

 southern states, this operation can be performed in 

 February and March, but with us April and the 

 early part of May is the most proper season. If 

 the bed is made in soil retentive of water it will 

 require to have a drain laid from it to keep the 

 bottom dry, or otherwise it would be providing a 

 basin of water for the plants, which to them would 

 prove a " bed of death" in winter. The only shelter 

 necessary here is a covering of boards, glass, or 

 straw ; the latter is a bad protection when exposed 

 to rain and snow, which causes mouldiness about 

 the plants, and even kills them ; where glass is not 

 accessible all that is required is a temporary and 

 movable frame or covering of boards, which must 

 be removed as soon as spring appears. Treated 

 thus they will not receive any material injury in 

 this vicinity from our severest winters ; but to the 



