CHAPTER YI. 



MANURES. 



We trust that impatient readers will not pass 

 by tliis chapter with turned-up nose and a sniff 

 of disdain, for the subject is an important, albeit 

 an unpleasant one, to handle. We shall make it 

 short, if not sweet. 



Manure, if new, should never be applied so as 

 to come in contact with the roots, but may be 

 spread on the surface of the earth as a mulch ; 

 this is often done with advantage in the autumn, 

 digging it in in the following spring. Manure 

 which is to be dug in about the plants must be 

 decomposed, and may be advantageously mixed 

 with a compost of good turfy loam and spent 

 hops ; all animal manure is useful for roses, par- 

 ticularly droppings of the. cow, pig, and sheep ; 

 these mixed with a compost as named form the 

 best fertilizers that can be used. Besides these, 

 the cleanings from the poultry house, night soil, 

 soot, bone-dust, and guano will all be found ex- 



