54 The Rose Garden. 



of fixing the ammonia conveyed to the soil by rain. But further, earth is reduced 

 by burning to its inorganic constituents, and thus becomes a concentrated inorganic 

 manure from which many soils benefit largely; and the ashes of the wood and other 

 substances used in burning, although of small amount, would add to its value under 

 this point of view. A portion of the earth comes from the heap red and hard, and 

 a portion black or dark brown. The latter, which may be more correctly called 

 charred earth, is highly beneficial to most soils, and the best manure that can be 

 applied to Roses in wet or adhesive soils, and I would advise all who cultivate such 

 to use it. Frequent use of the hoe in what are called heavy soils is also highly 

 beneficial. 



Peat soils, although not of the best kind for Roses, are found to grow them 

 tolerably well. For the improvement of such, if wet, the first effort should be to 

 drain them. After this stiff loam, or pulverized clay and burnt earth, may be brought 

 upon the surface, digging two spits deep, and well mixing the foreign substances 

 with the natural soil, as advised in the improvement of clay soils. 



The worst soils for Roses are those of a sandy or gravelly nature. In such they 

 often suffer fearfully from red spider and the drought of summer, scorching up and 

 dying. Soils of this kind are sometimes bad beyond remedy. The best plan to 

 pursue under such circumstances is to remove the soil to the depth of about twenty 

 inches, as the beds are marked out, loosening the bottom and filling up again with 

 prepared soil. Two-thirds loam the turf from a pasture if attainable and one- 

 third decomposed stable manure will make a good mixture. If a strong loam is 

 within reach choose such in preference to others, and if thought too adhesive a little 

 burnt earth or sand may be mixed with it. A good kind of manure for mixing with 

 the loam is the remains of a hot-bed which have lain by for a year and become 

 decomposed. Syringing the leaves and watering the roots should be often repeated 

 on such soils, especially during the growing season. 



Opoix, a French apothecary, whom we have previously quoted, attributes the 

 superiority of the Roses grown for medicinal purposes in the neighbourhood of 

 Provins to peculiar properties of the soil, which contains iron in considerable quantity. 

 We are told that the selection of inorganic manures for plants may be fixed upon by 

 an examination of the composition of their ashes.* We know by the research of 

 chemists that the petals of the ROSA GALLICA contain oxide of iron ; and I have 

 long thought that the iron which abounds in the soil of one of the nurseries here is an 

 ingredient of importance in the culture of Roses. I would not say that it is indis- 

 pensable but beneficial, and am almost confident that it heightens the colour of the 

 flowers. On turning up the soil its ferruginous nature is in places distinctly seen. 

 In an undrained field adjoining the Nursery the water frequently collects on the 



* Liebig. 



