12 QEBENHOUSE MANAGEMENT. 



weeks. The best time to apply liquid manure is in the 

 morning, when the beds are a liltle dry, as it will then 

 be more evsnly distributed through the soil. When 

 nitrate of soda and sulphate of potash are used as a top- 

 dressing, one pound of each to two hundred square feet 

 of bed will be ample. 



Unleached wood ashes afford a desirable source for 

 potash and phosphoric acid, and may be used at the 

 rate of a bushel to two or three hundred squai'e feet of 

 bed. The potash will promote tlie development of firm, 

 short-jointed wood, and, combined with the phosphoric 

 acid, will favor the production of flowers. Many flo- 

 rists still cling to the use of liquid fertilizers made from 

 animal manures, and one of the best mixtures is com- 

 posed of a peck of hen manure and a half bushel of 

 sheep manure in one hundred gallons of water. The 

 food contained in the few inches of soil in which roses 

 are grown is soon exhausted, and it must be replaced in 

 some way. The top-dressing of sheep or cow manure 

 answers fairly well for this purpose, as well as for a 

 mulch to keep the weeds down after the roots of the 

 roses have filled the soil so that stirring the surface will 

 injure them, but it is unsightly, and keeps the surface 

 wet and sour and prevents the ready access of the air to 

 the roots, so that, although it is of much benefit during 

 the summer months, it is a positive drawback during 

 the winter. 



All fallen and diseased leaves should be removed 

 and burned, and the surface of the bed should have an 

 occasional stirring, to admit the aJr and to prevent the 

 baking of the soil, but care should be taken not to dis- 

 turb the roots. In addition to the other work men- 

 tioned, it is desirable to be prepared at all times to fight 

 insects and diseases. A description of the most trouble- 

 some forms, and the treatment for them, will be found in 

 another chapter. 



