170 



THE BOOK OF THE ROSE 



CIO P. IX 



he fired at that, with perhaps less care than before, and 

 by a cruel mischance actually cut off the sole remaining 

 leader ! 



To find out for certain what buds have been injured 

 by the frost will take more time and patience. By no 

 means remove them in a hurry ; some will soon be seen 

 to become a paler green with white unhealthy-looking 

 blotches on them. One or two of the worst of these 

 might be cut open, and if the rudimentary petals are 

 brown, the bud is rotten and would soon drop off of its 

 own accord. Others may be tested by pinching, when 

 the points of some will be found soft and hollow ; these 

 are of no use. Gradually thin and disbud them ; take off 

 no side buds till you have settled whether the crown 

 bud is worth leaving or which of the others is the best ; 

 or, remove only the worst at each time of inspection till 

 there are only two between which to choose. The lower 

 side buds of Teas, if the parts above them are removed, 

 will often make a good bit of growth, and practically 

 become the main stem. Above all, remember, after a 

 severe May frost, that the power of recuperation in the 

 main shoots of a Rose, while they are yet soft, young, 

 and growing, is very great indeed : but nevertheless it 

 must be confessed that no embryo bud which is in 

 existence during a frost that injures the leaves is likely 

 to come to any good. 



Almost as bad a pest in country districts, especially 

 where a piece of grass field has been taken in to grow 

 Roses to perfection, is that wretched Mr. Nobody who 

 leaves the gate unfastened between the Roses and the 

 field, and thus lets cows or other live stock in. In 

 this case — cxperto crede — there is no real remedy, 

 especially where there are children, short of a padlock 

 on the gate, and a stile beside it. 



