26o HOME FLORICULTURE 



and put in a lot of such rubbish as accumulates about 

 all houses to act as drainage material. It may not 

 sound very poetical, but I would advise utilizing old 

 boots and shoes, bones, etc, in this way. They not only 

 answer the direct purpose for which you use them, 

 but they will decay and furnish an element of plant 

 food which the Rose will make good use of. Then 

 r^et plenty of old, black, friable cow manure and mix 

 it well with the soil thrown out of the bed. You can 

 scarcely give too much. Old chip dirt is excellent, also. 

 In such a soil you may expect your Roses to do great 

 things. And they will not disappoint you if you give 

 them proper attention in other respects, which you will 

 do, of course, if you are as much of a lover of this 

 flower as you ought to be. 



Among the older varieties of Rose, the best are 

 the Provence, the Damask and the Cabbage — all pop- 

 ular, and all good, and well worth a place in the most 

 aristocratic garden alongside the new candidates for 

 favor. In addition to these, I would advise the follow- 

 ing as being especially desirable among the hardy, June 

 blooming kinds : 



Harrison's Yellow, a Rose of exceedingly rich 

 color, not very double, but bearing enormous quan- 

 tities of flowers, and as hardy as the Lilac ; leaves 

 generally with nine leaflets. 



The Persian Yellow is of a much deeper hue than 

 the preceding, and more double, nearly full. It is of 

 feebler growth, and is best when grown on the stock 

 of the Dog Rose or the Manetti. The foliage is small, 

 leaves with seven leaflets, with Sweetbrier scent. 



George the Fourth, a rich crimson-scarlet flower, 

 very double and delightfully fragrant ; a free bloomer, 

 and good grower ; one of the best. It is hard to find 

 it among the rose growers, but it is well worth seek- 

 ing for. 



