58 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE chap. 



before they have lost their leaves. The bundle 

 should be always unpacked at once, unless there be 

 strong frost ; and if the frost continue, it will still 

 be well to unpack them, remove the frozen surface 

 from a piece of unoccupied light land, and "lay 

 them in." This should be done with some care, 

 seeing that the roots are not bruised or laid too 

 closely together, that all are deeply covered with 

 soil, and that the tops are also protected from the 

 frost by green boughs, matting, or some such 

 material. They should also be laid in if the 

 weather is wet and planting cannot be proceeded 

 with at once ; it is far better to do this than to 

 plant when the soil is sticky. Nevertheless, every 

 effort should be made to get the planting done in 

 November, and not to defer it till the spring ; for I 

 have often seen that fresh roots are commenced 

 during the winter months by Eoses planted in 

 November. 



Great care should be used in disentangling and 

 untying the heads of the Eoses when unpacking, 

 as there is still considerable danger, with the 

 " maiden " or one-year-old plants, of the head 

 being clean pulled out of the stock. Good plants 

 will have good roots, that is, many and fibrous, 

 rather than few, strong, and long. In "dwarf" 

 Eoses (by which term is understood all sorts even 

 of the most vigorous growth which are budded on 

 the stem of the stock near the root, and not on the 

 branches to form standards), good plants will have 

 very little length of stem between the roots and 

 the point where the stock was budded, whether 

 they be on briar or manetti : a perfect dwarf plant 

 should have no "leg" at all. The wood should 



