110 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE chap. 



there is room when they have reached the top, till 

 growth ceases for the winter. If the pitch of the 

 roof be steep, as soon as the buds seem inclined to 

 break in the spring, the time being of course de- 

 pendent on the amount of heat supplied, all the ties 

 should be unfastened and the long trailing shoots 

 most carefully let down for a few days to give the 

 lower buds an equal chance of breaking with the 

 upper ones. They should then be retied in their 

 former positions, and the ends reaching further than 

 the top of the house, for which no room can be 

 found, may be cut off. 



Almost every bud should now produce a flower — a 

 splendid sight which may last a month. The blooms 

 will be greatly superior to those grown out of doors 

 in general perfection of shape, but the petals will be 

 thinner in many cases, and the flowers less lasting. 

 They should be cut before they are expanded, as they 

 are then at their best, and also all yellow Roses 

 improve in colour by being shaded or removed from 

 bright sunshine. Great care should be taken in the 

 spring growing season to avoid cold draught, as the 

 foliage is very tender and susceptible to mildew. As 

 the blooms are cut, or wither, the upright rods 

 should be gradually shortened till the whole is clean 

 removed back again to the main horizontal arms at 

 the bottom of the house. The check to the plant 

 will be lessened by the gradual removal of the shoots, 

 and fresh growth will soon start to be trained up 

 during the summer and autumn in their place as 

 before. 



This is a simple, systematic, and regular method, 

 which I have found to answer extremely well. It 

 may be objected that all autumnal bloom is lost by 



