Gardening for Amateurs 



277 



together to form a rich 



compost. The fermenta- 

 tion of the manure in the 



ground goes on during 



winter, producing a nice 



warmth which keeps the 



plant and soil in good 



heart. 



Lime. While lime is in 



itself an item of plant 



diet, it is chieHy for its 



indirect benefits that it is 



employed. Let it be re- 

 membered, however, that 



lime is not required \\ here 



basic slag has been used : 



but if not one, then the 



other. Lime sweetens the 



soil, and tends to act as a 



tonic in removing that 



Mirfeited inactivity which 



results from overfeeding. 



Gypsum or sulphate of 



lime is the best form to 



apply along with farm- 



vard manure, and about 

 1 Ib. for every bush may 



l>e given. If that is not 



obtainable use plenty of 



ground shells, fine chalk. 



or, better still, slaked lime 



at the rate of about 6 to 



8 oz. per bush ; should 



ground lime be substi- 

 tuted, let the 6 oz. ap- 

 plied lie for a few days 

 on the surface before being hoed in. 



SnI i,l t (it< of Iron. Wonderful to tell, this 

 manure, which is one of the best for successful 

 Rose growing, is the one almost always for- 

 gotten by the amateur. Iron is an element 

 of all plant life, and without it the bush is 

 unhealthy and prone to disease ; sulphate, 

 or -ulphiir, as we may regard it, is antiseptic 

 and disease-resisting, while also helping to 

 build up vegetable tissue ; the compound, 

 then, forms a kind of medicine- food. Sul- 

 phate of iron also prevents loss of valuable 

 nitrogenous matter through the long winter 

 and yet yields it up to the rootlets on demand, 

 and as an insecticide for killing microscopic 

 soil pests there are few to equal it. We 

 have direct experimental proof that this 



Rose Bennett's Seedling covering a garden arch. 



-iil-tanee -mires at l ( . ;l st partial immunity 

 from fungoid jx-sts. and many of the disease's 

 so virulent in our <_'ardens are due in the first 

 instance to the continuous removal of iron 

 without replacement of more in a suitable 

 form. This eom|>ound is dangerous in ex- 

 cess; \ oz to ? o/. . i-- the amount to use for 

 every bush. 



Roses in Tubs. To anyone having a 

 love for flowers. esj>eeially if he is a Row 

 enthusiast, one who is anxious to grow his 

 fa \ourite Hower above all others, it nm-t 

 lie extremely trying to l>e without a garden, 

 yet there are many who are forced by cir- 

 rum^tanees to endure this hard lot. Kven 

 th<-<- unfortunate folk, however. need not l)O 

 entirely destitute of Roses, if they are willing 



