36 PROPER SOIL FOR THE ROSE. 



PROPER SOIL FOR THE ROSE. 



The proper soil for the Rose is strong rich loam, and well decom- 

 posed vegetable mould, cow dung, or horse dung; but as we are 

 too often already provided with the kind of soil we are obliged to use, 

 and the gardens and situations for our roses are generally ready 

 made, aU we can do is to modify and supply the deficiency, if any, 

 as well as we can. If the soil be light, holes must be dug, and loam 

 and dung forked in at the bottom of the hole, as well as the hole be 

 filled up with the same mixture; for troublesome as this may be, it is 

 the only way to secure a good growth and bloom, and it is next to 

 useless to plant roses in poor light soil without this precaution. 

 Etoheu gardens well kept up, will always grow the Rose well, and 

 unless the soil be very poor and very light, a good spadeful of rotten 

 dung, mixed with the soil where the Rose is planted, wiH answer all 

 the purpose. Among the evils of poor soil for the Rose, it is not the 

 least, that it frequently makes the flower that would otherwise be 

 double come single or semi-double, so as to destroy all identity of the 

 variety by its bloom ; and although many thousands of roses of no 

 value have been sent out, many others which did not deserve it have 

 been condemned, because the party who was growing them knew 

 nothing about their cultivation, and starved them into a false charac- 

 ter. As it is difficult, however, to give the Rose too rich a soil, it 

 may be as well, even if you think it good enough, to work in a spade- 

 ful of dung vrith it ; for it wiU do no harm, even if the state of the 

 ground be ever so good. We have no doubt that the Rose would 

 flourish in rotten turf, and when they are to be grown in pots, it is 

 practicable to give them this invaluable stuff to grow in ; but unless 

 it be a recently turned-up pasture, there is nothing approximating to 

 it out of doors, and even this is far less supplied with the rotted grass, 

 than when turfs are out thin to rot for use. As a general principle, 

 then, it may be laid down that the Rose requires rich soil ; and that if 

 you have it not, you must change the nature of what you have, by 

 means of dung, or loam, or both. 



