THOUGHTS ON ROSES. 151 



results. True, there is much in a name, and the name 

 of a Rose show falls sweetly enough on the ear ; but 

 if the thing is to continue popular, or to be anything 

 more than a pretty sound, the Rose must be brought 

 before the public in all its native freshness on bush and 

 tree. " I never buy a Rose now from the cut flowers 

 shown at the exhibitions," said a Rose amateur to me 

 the other day, " for there you see nothing but the flower. 

 I want to know something of the foliage, the constitution, 

 and the habit of the tree, especially whether it produces 

 few or many flowers, and whether eleven out of every 

 dozen are good or bad." Turning to our gardens, it is 

 yet too early to speak of the year 1868 as a whole, 

 because if a "dripping time" should set in, we may 

 reasonably expect a grand display of Roses in the 

 autumn. The summer growth on Rose soils is un- 

 usually firm and mature, and the wood doubtless well 

 stored with organised matter, which only requires the 

 stimulus of moisture in earth and air to produce the 

 grandest results. 



I of course must only speak of my own Rose ground, 

 situate at Waltham Cross in the Valley of the Lea. The 

 soil is a strong loam, 4 feet deep, resting on gravel. 

 Water usually stands in this gravel within 4 feet of the 

 surface. The ground has been thoroughly drained, the 

 mains being 4 feet, the contributaries 3 feet 6 inches deep. 

 Being surrounded with water, water has been freely used, 

 but I have little faith in water alone on this soil ; it 

 requires to be supplemented either by mulching or keep- 

 ing the surface loose by means of the hoe or fork. The 

 latter is the grand panacea on this- soil for all the ills 

 which trees and plants are heir to ; gravel and water, 

 however, are not very far from the surface, and the water 

 is doubtless constantly setting upwards by the law of 

 capillary attraction. 



Such a season as that just passed teaches us some- 

 thing. We learn a little by it, and have to unlearn a 



