MAY. 



23i 



mould, and tying their tops to a small stake to prevent their 

 being blown about by the wind. Nearly all roses are im- 

 proved by a severe annual pruning. Every spring the beds 

 should be examined, and all the old, decayed wood and feeble 

 shoots cut away. Climbing roses should have only the ex- 

 tremities of their long shoots clipped, and their lateral branches 

 pruned back to one eye. 



Many roses require protection in winter, and all are bene- 

 fited by it. They should be carefully bent to the ground 

 and fastened there by stakes, and their tops covered with 

 leaves or a light dressing of litter. Hybrid perpetual roses 

 should always receive this amount of protection. The 

 Bourbon, Noisette, China and Tea varieties are more tender, 

 and require greater care to preserve them through the winter. 

 Some persons dig them up in the fall and bury them in a dry 

 and sheltered corner of the garden ; others set them in a 

 rough frame, covered with witidow-sash and matting ; others 

 remove them to the greenhouse. But, ordinarily, there is no 

 need of this trouble. Where it is convenient to do so, it may 

 be well to put tea roses in a frame or greenhouse ; but all the 

 other sorts may be easily kept out of doors. Any time before 

 the first of December peg the shoots carefully to the ground, 

 set boards a foot wide around the margin of the bed, fasten- 

 ing them in an upright position, with stakes; throw a few 

 leaves and a little dirt from the woods over the tops of the 

 plants, then fill np the space within the boards with spent 

 tan bark, and over the whole lay a few boards so as to shed 

 rain. In the spring remove this covering, a little at a time, 

 and the plants will be found in perfect health, the leaves 

 green and the buds plump and fresh and beginning to grow. 

 The writer of this article has tried the above course for four 

 years past with perfect success, and therefore recommends it 

 to others with great confidence. 



Roses may be propagated in various ways. Cuttings placed 

 in a warm, sandy soil, and covered with a window-sash and 

 frequently watered, will generally strike in a short time. The 

 hardy kinds are more commonly increased by layers. In tlie 

 early part of summer, select a young, well-ripened shoot. 



