Her Majesty the Rose 



SECOND PAPER. 



THE Eose likes a. rather heavy soil — 

 something that will make itself firm 

 about its few and rather large roots. 

 True, it will do quite well in a somewhat 

 loose, open soil of loam, but it does so 

 much hette?' in a stiff er soil that it pays 

 to provide it. Some of the finest Eoses I 

 ever saw, grew in clay containing coarse 

 gravel. The finest Eose I ever had, grew 

 in the rich soil of an old chipyard. The 



"LIBERTY" ROSES 



poorest ones I ever had, grew in a soil 

 composed of leaf-mold and loam, in a bed 

 prepared with much trouble, under the 

 impression that I was doing my plants , a 

 kindness by taking so much pains for 

 them. They lived in it, but they failed to 

 make a satisfactory growth, and gave few 

 flowers, while those planted in the heavier 

 soil of the garden flourished finely. Then 

 it was that I discovered that I had made 

 a serious mistake in thinking Eoses would 

 do well in a light, spongy soil. 



Eoses are great caters. They will live 

 for years in a poor soil, and produce a 

 crop of flowers annually, but if you would 

 have perfect flowers in profusion, it is 

 imperatively necessary that you feed your 



plants well. Nothing in the line of fer- 

 tilizers suits them so well as old, thor- 

 oughly rotten manure from the cow-yard. 

 That which is black, and crumbles readily 

 under the application of the hoe is the 

 ideal manure for this plant. It should 

 be used in liberal quantities, and worked 

 into the soil well. Fresh manure should 

 never be allowed to come in contact with 

 the roots. If used at all, it should be 

 applied to the surface of the soil, as part 

 of a mulch. Other manures from the 

 farm ^ yard are good, however. Where 

 they cannot be obtained, guano or bone- 

 meal can be substituted with good results. 

 The dealer of whom you purchase will 

 tell you how much to use about each plant, 

 as he will understand the strength of the 

 grade he handles. Those who live in the 

 city, will, as a general thing, find it neces- 

 sary to depend upon one or the other of 

 these fertilizers for Eose food. Those 

 living in the country will find their plants 

 greatly benefited by frequent applications 

 of liquid manure during the budding and 

 f owering season. Canon Hole, who un- 

 derstands Eoses better than any other 

 living man, I think, because he loves 

 them so well that he has made them a 

 lifelong study, says : "The happy rosarian 

 who has a farm yard at his disposal will, 

 if he is wise, have a large tank in which 

 to prepare liquid manure for his plants. 

 At all times, and especially in seasons of 

 drouth, this will be more precious as a 

 restjorative and tonic to his Eoses, than 

 the waters of Kissengen and Vichy to his 

 invalid fellow man. Only let him re- 

 member this rule of application — weak 

 and often rather than strong and seldom." 



Eoses grown for the market in the open 

 ground ought, if possible, to be planted 

 while dormant. To lift a plant after 

 growth begins is to give it a check so 

 severe that it will be a long time in recov- 

 ering from it. Therefore, planting very 

 early in Spring before the plant starts, 

 or in Autumn, after growth ceases, is 



