LOCATION AND PREPARATION 



half feet in width, the finished level of the moss being 

 over three niches; hi other words, two hundred 

 pounds, at a cost of less than two dollars, would 

 protect ten yards of rose bed, or about forty plants. 

 The hundred-pound price is a little more expensive 

 than the carload rate. 



To return to the composition of the bed itself. 

 We have found that there are two most important 

 things necessary to insure success: first, the bed 

 must underdrain, to get rid of any great surplus of 

 water, so that in very damp seasons the rose roots 

 will not be too wet; second, the bed must, on the 

 other hand, retain moisture to a certain extent so 

 that in very dry seasons the roots will not be too 

 dry. To obtain the drainage it is necessary in soil 

 which is greatly composed of clay to underdrain 

 the beds by a layer of crushed stone; where the soil 

 is more open, gravelly or sandy, this is not needed. 

 The bed should be made two and one-half feet in 

 depth if underdrainage is necessary, with about six 

 inches of crushed or broken stone put in the bottom; 

 small crushed stone lies evenly, and the earth does 

 not sift through it enough to clog the drainage. 

 Large or uneven stone should be covered by some- 

 thing to keep the earth from sifting through. If 

 the bed is made in a lawn the turf cut from the sur- 

 face and turned upside down is a good expedient, 



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