2o6 THE ROSE BOOK 



deplorable results. Or, instead of waiting until the plants 

 are established, he enriches the soil when planting, and 

 supplements this with various doses of nitrate of soda, 

 guano, superphosphate, etc., with the result that the 

 fibrous roots of the roses are destroyed. If the soil has 

 been deeply dug and farmyard manure and basic slag 

 added in autumn before planting, and a little bonemeal 

 given to each plant when set out, no further stimulant 

 is needed until after the first crop of bloom is gathered ; 

 to help the second crop, very weak liquid manure may 

 be applied about once a week. 



To established roses — ^that is, those that have been 

 planted more than one year — an annual dressing of half- 

 rotted farmyard manure should be dug into the beds in 

 autumn. Some rosarians leave this on the surface of the 

 soil during winter, and dig it in in the spring, but all 

 good growers condemn this practice ; the manure tends 

 to keep the soil wet and cold. Amateurs often wonder 

 why manure should be given to roses when they are 

 dormant, but the finer particles of the manure are washed 

 down by winter rains and are ready for the plants' 

 requirements when growth begins in spring. 



In February an application of Tonks' Manure should 

 be given. A brief account of this may be advisable. 

 In " The Rosarian's Year Book " for 1889 there was 

 an excellent article on artificial manure for roses, by 

 Mr. E. Tonks. A copy of the analysis of the ashes 

 of a rose plant was given, and Mr. Tonks compiled 

 from these statistics a preparation now known as 

 Tonks' Manure, which is very largely used by rose 



