586 Cultivation of Plants. 



this is just contrary to the teachings of practice. In a general 

 way we may say that the strong, vigorous-growing varieties 

 should be sparingly pruned, whilst the weaker-growing kinds 

 should be cut back almost close every season. The time for 

 pruning is late autumn or winter ; but tender varieties, when 

 grown in the open garden, should not be cut back till the 

 severity of winter is past. The best time for planting is 

 November or December, though with a little care Roses may 

 be transplanted up to the end of March, or later. There are 

 various ways of propagating them, but the great majority of 

 cultivated varieties are budded on stems of the Dog-Rose for 

 standard trees, or on tjie Manetti for dwarf bushes. Climbing 

 varieties may be raised from cuttings in the open ground, and 

 even many of the Hybrid Perpetual class will succeed in the 

 same way. To raise new varieties crossing is resorted to, and 

 the seeds resulting therefrom are sown. The seedling plants 

 would be several years as a rule before they produced flowers, 

 and consequently as soon as the wood is large enough they 

 are budded on the D.og-Rose or Manetti, by which treatment 

 blooms are usually secured the following, if not the same, 

 season. 



4. Culture of Herbaceous Plants. 



GENERAL REMARKS. 



Under this head we include all plants that are herbaceous, 

 technically speaking, whatever their duration, and whether 

 bulbous or fibrous-rooted. At another place we give some 

 short lists and hints to enable possessors of small gardens to 

 select a few species worthy of a place in every garden. The 

 general routine to be observed in the cultivation of herbaceous 

 plants, excluding the strictly alpine species, is simple enough. 

 A rich, deep, well-drained soil, tilled to a good depth, is the 

 first condition. Where the soil is poor and shallow, means 

 must be taken to improve it, for, with a few exceptions, her- 

 baceous perennials require generous treatment. Turfy loam, 

 mixed with leaf-mould and thoroughly rotten stable-clung, will 

 be found the most effective for nearly all poor land. A stiff 

 clay is perhaps the most unmanageable description of soil for 

 a flower garden, as greater difficulty is experienced in working 

 in material to make it freer. In such cases if practicable a 

 spit of the clayey soil should be taken out and replaced by a 

 sijitable compost, the surface mould, if any, being kept back 



