106 KOSES THAT BLOOM THE ^"KOLE SEASON. 



with a dry bottom, and in. an elevated 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 

 wdld 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, 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, cedar 

 branches, or stra^v; the latter is a bad protection when 

 exposed to rain and snow, which causes mouldiness 

 about the plants, and even kills tbem; 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 



