THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



281 



390. The Kind of American Beauty rose that you 

 want. It has a strong stem, with good foliage close up 

 to the flower, and a solid bud that opens up well 



Of course the beds must not be made over- 

 wet. The number of syringings may be 

 reduced to two, but they will be heavier 

 and the water given equally to the soil and 

 to the foliage. With frequent syringings the 

 water is kept from the soil as much as possi- 

 ble. The amateur is much more likely to 

 err on the side of giving too little water — 

 maintaining too dry an atmosphere — than 

 he is to make the mistake of giving too much. 



After the plants have been in the benches 

 for two or three weeks they will be making 

 a good growth and can be watered more 

 freely. Keep the surface of the soil stirred 

 and clear of weeds. But don't work too 

 deeply — half an inch is enough. 



HOW SUCCESSFUL ROSARIANS GET GOOD SOIL 



The rose likes a rich soil. Without a proper 

 soil the finest house will fail to produce good 

 roses, and with suitable soil one can get 

 along very well indeed in a makeshift sort of 

 a house. In many small places where it is not 

 practicable to give up one house entirely to 

 roses, it is at the same time possible to attain 

 a tolerable result by paying strict attention to 

 the soil requirements. That all places are 

 not equally well suited for growing roses 

 under glass is most likely due to differences 

 in the soils. The soil should be procured in 

 August or September for use next year so 

 that the winter may act upon it. By prefer- 

 ence get soil from an old pasture that has 

 not been cultivated for many years. A 

 heavy loam from grass land that has been 

 regularly grazed is the ideal basis of the com- 

 post heap for roses. A good tough sod full of 

 roots is to be sought not for the grass tops, 

 but for the root fibre. 



Having the soil, stack it just before winter 

 in proportions of three parts soil to one of 

 cow manure, layer upon layer in a mound 

 of convenient height, but not too high nor 

 too broad for the frost to penetrate. Let it 

 remain without any cover till spring. In 

 composting fresh manure can be used; but 

 if the rnanure is added at the time the soil 

 is chopped down in the spring it must have 

 been thoroughly rotted previously. As soon 

 as the weather in spring is "open" and the 

 soil sufficiently dried out to be worked the 

 whole heap should be turned and allowed 

 to remain fully a month, when it is turned 

 once more. Use a spade in these operations. 

 One month before it will be carried into the 

 house it should have the final turning, when 

 bone meal (about one part to fifty) or other 

 fertilizer may be added. Everything depends 

 upon the quality of the soil. To that taken 

 from a pasture yielding one ton of hay to the 

 acre one-fourth its bulk of manure may be 

 added, whereas a pasture cutting two tons 

 to the acre will not need more than one-eighth 

 its bulk of manure. At the last turning of the 

 compost an addition of lime and bone meal 

 may be made — but neither in large quantities ; 

 lime is to be used only when the soil is 

 specially heavy. Mica is added if the soil 

 is unusually light. It will be better perhaps 

 for the amateur to omit the lime and apply 

 the bone meal (or wood ashes) directly to the 

 soil in the beds or benches as a top dressing 

 before planting at the rate of one bushel to a 

 hundred -foot house: Or, ten pounds of 

 each, bone meal and wood ashes, or bone 

 meal and sheep manure, to 200 square feet 



of glass, mixed with the soil in the bench or 

 while turning outdoors, will be sufficient. 



THE PRINCIPLES OF GREENHOUSE 

 CONSTRUCTION 



The amateur can grow good roses in any 

 reasonably well-built and sufficiently lighted 

 house where a proper degree of heat can be 

 had. All houses of whatever pattern will of 

 course be run east and west. The three- 

 quarter-span roof makes the house very high 

 at the ridge, as a regular pitch of seven and 

 one-half inches to the foot is maintained. 

 The even-span house, in which both sides of 

 the roof are of the same size and the ridge 

 in the centre, is cheaper to build and costs 

 less for repairs. For the amateur the even 

 span is more useful, as it can be turned to 

 any other purpose if roses are tired of. 



Although different varieties of rose may 

 show preferences for different soils, still for 

 the amateur a good general one is preferred, 

 and a soil prepared as above will answer 

 perfectly well. A soil that is good for almost 

 all varieties will, if taken and rubbed between 

 thumb and finger, have a mellow, smooth 

 feeling. Perle des Jardins, La France, 

 Duchess of Albany, and Niphetos succeed 

 best on a lighter type of soil, while The Bride, 

 Bridesmaid, Catherine Mermet, Madame 

 Hoste, Papa Gontier, Souvenir de Wootton 

 and American Beauty require heavy soils for 

 their best development. Roses grown on 

 a clay soil produce blooms of better color 

 and substance than those grown on a lighter 

 one. 



The house should be of iron construction — 



391. The three ■ quarter ■ span house is practical where a building wall can be made to do service. 

 Solid beds are preferred to raised benches if the plants are to be carried over more than one season. A 

 good example of modern construction — all iron and glass — permanent, free from drip, shadow and draughts, 

 efficient, attractive and cheaper in the long run because a saver of coal and repair bills 



