50 



THE BOOK OF THE ROSE 



CHAP. 



been selected beforehand, if possible in the nurseryman's 

 quarters, or at least ordered very early, as the good 

 plants are sure to go first. They should not be sent 

 before November, for though you may move your own 

 plants with care in October, they do not stand a long 

 journey well before they have lost their leaves. The 

 bundle should always be unpacked at once, unless there 

 be strong frost ; and if the frost continue, it will still 

 be well to unpack them, remove the frozen surface from 

 a piece of unoccupied light land, and " lay them in." 

 This should be done with some care, seeing that the 

 roots are not bruised or laid too closely together, that 

 all are deeply covered with soil, and that the tops are 

 also protected from the frost by green boughs, matting, 

 or some such material. They should also be laid in if 

 the weather is wet and planting cannot be proceeded 

 with at once ; it is far better to do this than to plant 

 when the soil is sticky. Nevertheless, every effort 

 should be made to get the planting done in November, 

 and not to defer it till the spring ; for I have often 

 seen that fresh roots are commenced during the winter 

 months by Roses planted in November. 



Great care should be used in disentangling and 

 untying the heads of the Roses when unpacking, as 

 there is still considerable danger with the " maiden " 

 or one-year-old plants of the head being clean pulled 

 out of the stock. Good plants will have good roots, that 

 is, many and fibrous, rather than few, strong, and long. 

 In " dwarf" Roses (by which term is understood all sorts 

 even of the most vigorous growth which are budded 

 on the stem of the stock near the root, and not on the 

 branches to form standards), good plants will have very 

 little length of stem between the roots and the point 

 where the stock was budded, whether they be on briar or 



