36 BEGINNER'S BOOK OF GARDENING 



the east and south. Of course most beginners in rose- 

 growing will have their gardens already framed by 

 means of walls, and the necessity for additional pro- 

 tection will, in such cases, be unnecessary. In any case 

 only such Roses should be chosen as are likely to 

 succeed under the conditions we are able to afford. 



Whilst in the matter of situation most of us are little 

 able to pick and choose, in the matter of soil we are 

 much more able to pander to the requirements of our 

 Roses. Different classes of Roses thrive in different soils, 

 but as a general rule Roses do best in a strong, deep, rich, 

 greasy loam, resting, not less than two feet down, on 

 a well-drained subsoil of chalk or gravel. Where oaks 

 and elms grow large and wheat crops are heavy there 

 Roses are likely to succeed with the minimum of trouble. 

 Rarely, however, can the rose-grower expect to find 

 his soil naturally such as the Rose most desires. But 

 the beginner may cheer himself by the knowledge that 

 there is not a county in the British Isles without its 

 successful rose-growers and exhibitors, and there is not 

 a soil which cannot be so modified and improved as to 

 produce perfect blooms. The modifications need to be 

 effected according to the original soil with which we 

 have to deal. It used to be thought that a clay soil was 

 the only, or at any rate the best, soil in which to grow 

 Roses. This is by no means the case, for although few 

 soils are more suitable than the rich fertile clay of 

 Colchester, no soil could be much less hopeful than the 

 shaly clay of the Sussex Weald. If our land is of a 

 clayey nature, especially if it be ill-drained, every effort 

 must be made to lighten it and to abolish that putty-like 

 character which makes it so difficult to cultivate. In 

 other words, we must get the particles of soil as separate 

 as possible, and for this purpose clay soil requires to be 

 thoroughly mixed with sand grit, road scrapings, ashes, 

 or strawy manure. If, on the other hand, the soil is 



