PREPARING THE BEDS 15 



Soils 



The good loam so often found directly beneath the sod is 

 excellent, but is greatly improved by being broken, even 

 pulverized, to a depth of at least two spades and thoroughly 

 mixed with about one-third its bulk of rotted manure. 

 Fresh manure must never be allowed to touch the rose- roots. 

 Indeed, the more thorough-going way is to make sure of the 

 nether layer of soil by removing the upper one. First of all, 

 peel off the sod (it will produce excellent compost, see 

 section on "Fertilizers"); next take out the top layer of soil 

 to the depth of 1 foot and pile it nearby. If the soil below 

 that is good, rich loam, or a fair mixture of clay and loam, it 

 may remain. Loosen this with a garden fork to a depth of 

 another foot, preferably not upturning it, and mix with it 

 well-decomposed manure, and then put back the top layer of 

 loam in which to plant your roses. 



If, on the other hand, you find the subsoil poor, barren, and 

 unproductive, you may have to remove it altogether. Haul 

 it away, and put your chopped-up sods in the bottom, grass- 

 side down, to rot and make future plant-food. If you have 

 ready from the previous year a compost made by mixing one- 

 half or two-thirds of sod, with the balance of manure from 

 the cow-stables, use it in the bottom of your bed, and make 

 a future storehouse of rich nourishment for your roses. 



Another hint: A few broken bones may be mixed with 

 the soil in the bottom of the trench, say a peck for a bed 

 holding a dozen roses. These will decay slowly, and furnish 

 plant-food for three or four years to come. 



Not all roses like the same soils. The Hybrid Perpetuals, 

 for example, love a heavy clay or loam. So do the heavier- 

 growing climbers; whereas the Teas, Hybrid Teas, Bourbons 

 and the like, revel in a lighter soil and a warmer one, with less 

 than 50 per cent clay or loam, and more sand or leaf-mold. 

 Rugosas thrive even in quite sandy soil. 



"It is difficult to give the roses too rich soil." If your soil 

 is light and sandy, and you cannot well replace it entirely, it 

 may be greatly improved by mixing a little clay or rich loam 



