THE ROSE AND ITS CULTURE. 



323 



cf newly-planted Roses, the string should be first tied 

 firmly round the stake, and sufficient room left to tie 

 round the stem to enable it to slip down with it as it 

 subsides with the earth. If both are tied together 

 in the usual way, the stake having reached to the 

 solid earth under, the compost wiU not sink with the 

 Rose, and the latter will be suspended to the stake 

 to the straining and breaking of its roots. 



The fragility of wooden stakes is, neverthe- 

 less, a great di'awback to the stability of Roses. 

 A^en in full beauty of leaf and flower, and con- 

 sequently affording most purchase for the wind, the 

 stake snaps, and too often the stem of the Rose-tree 

 with it — and all is wrecked in a moment. To avoid 



Fig. i 



-Stake with Stays. 



such risks, iron stakes, like those shown in Fig. 28, 

 are largely employed in many gardens in lieu of 

 wooden stakes. In Fig. 28, a is a very simple and 

 useful stake, the peculiar narrowing twist a few 

 inches from its base adding much to its stability. 

 Another capital stake of similar character, with a 

 small knob at top and a prong or fork at bottom, is 

 shown in *. e is a plain iron stake, with three 

 prongs, set in a triangle that renders it immo- 

 vable under any ordinai-y pressure. The stake 

 lettered d is, however, the most ornamental and 

 the best. The mass and weight of its base, as 

 well as triangular or square form— for they may be 

 made of either shape— give it a. firm grip of the 

 earth, while the endless-screw appearance is not 

 only highly ornamental, hut adds to the practical 

 ■usefulness of the stake by providing a complete anti- 

 dote to tie-slipping. The chief drawback to this 

 stake arises from one of its merits. The considerable 

 mass of iron so near to the root-stock often causes 

 a sort of rust among the roots, that proves injurious 



to them. The simplest antidote to the rust is an 

 annual or biennial cleaning of the stakes, and the 

 dipping of the earth portion in boiling pitch. 



In Fig. 29 a stronger rose-stake is introduced. 

 This is an enlarged edition of e. Fig. 28, with the 

 important addition of three detached holdfasts, a a, 

 connected to the centre stake by wire, yarn, or chain, 

 c, fastened to a knob or ring in the stake at B. Pro- 

 perly secured, this stake ,is for all practical purposes 

 immovable, and the largest rose may be tied to or 

 trained up such with a perfect sense of security. 



Mulching the Surface of the Moots. — Finally, 

 after planting and making all firm and stable, 

 cover the surface with four inches of litter, 

 to make all frost-proof during the first winter, 

 and to conserve the moisture in summer. This is 

 the more needful as the roots will be nearer to the 

 surface than usual, and wiU also be found to be 

 abnormally active, and therefore unusually sensitive 

 to extremes of heat, or cold, or drought. 



Arraugement of tlie Plants. — This is more 

 determined by taste than Dy any necessary rules of 

 planting. For, however plants may be placed in 

 relation to each other, the mode of planting should be 

 the same. Still, much of the final effect of planting 

 turns on matters of arrangement. For example, in 

 forming a group of Roses, one would almost naturally 

 place the tallest plants in the centre, dropping a foot 

 or eighteen inches iii each row, and finishing with 

 dwarfs to meet the lowest standards on one side, and 

 stoop to kiss the turf on the other. The effect would 

 be far more pleasing than if the plants had been 

 placed higgledy-piggledy without any special regard 

 to height or distance. 



Many of the charms of a bank of Roses may also 

 be obtained on level ground by the simple expedient 

 of selecting tall standard or piUar roses, for the 

 back row. By having these say seven feet high, the 

 next say five, the next three and a-half, the next 

 two and a-half, the next eighteen inches, and the last 

 Dwarf or Fairy Roses, will be formed a broad rising 

 bank of the most telling character. Again, by plant- 

 ing standards rather thinly, dwarfs may he planted » 

 between them, and thus cover the ground, and make 

 the bed or garden of roses still more bright and 

 beautiful, with a perfect prodigality of buds and 

 blossom. Pillar, Pyramidal, or Creeping Roses 

 might also be chosen for centres of groups, skilfully 

 distributed among Dwarf Roses, or so disposed as to 

 rise up naturally, into a hedge or a bank of roses. 



But these hints only suggest rather than exhaust 

 the infinity of arrangements and combinations with 

 themselves and other plants, such as Honeysuckle, 

 Clematis, &o., that may be thought out and carried 

 into effect by' the skilful planter of roses. 



