46 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE chap. 



man, with a fair fall, and outfalls not neglected, but 

 watched, cleared, and properly attended to. The 

 deep, red, adhesive loam of some parts of Hereford- 

 shire has always seemed to me to be the perfection 

 of Rose soil, and in the best loam the best Roses of 

 all sorts may and should be grown. 



On one occasion, when dining at a friend's house, I 

 had some plum-pudding handed me, of the modern 

 type, very dark, rich, strong, and greasy. I declined 

 it, but regarded it curiously and with interest, my 

 thoughts wandering elsewhere. My hostess, noticing 

 my earnest gaze, asked me if I saw anything the 

 matter with it. Without thinking, and naturally 

 with somewhat unfortunate results, I blurted out 

 the truth : " Oh, no ; I was thinking what rare stuff 

 it would be to grow Eoses in " ! 



Geavel. — Soil known as gravelly is often too 

 quickly condemned. It is considered healthy to live 

 on, agreeable to work, and useful for many things, 

 but too hot, poor, and dry for the cultivation of the 

 best Eoses ; still, as I have had to grow most of my 

 own in such a medium, condemned after careful 

 examination by one of the best judges as hopeless, 

 I can aver that there is no reason to despair of a 

 gravel soil. 



There will be some soil at least, light, dry, and 

 powdery perhaps, but fairly fertile, on the top above 

 the gravel, and this, probably the full depth of the 

 spade in the garden but not so deep in the field, 

 should be taken out and laid on one side. Though 

 not the soil the Eose delights in, it is excellent for 

 root formation, for the striking of cuttings, for 

 placing next to the roots of Eoses, and for mixing 

 with heavy loam or clay in the making up of the beds. 



