and found that their roots had not interlaced but struck down 
towards the good sod at the bottom of the trench. The advantage of 
this close planting is a more closely covered ground, to my mind a 
prettier garden, and the disadvantage the scratchings of the inevitable 
thorn. All the work in our garden, the loosening of the sod, the re- 
moval of wood, all the light work, in fact, is done by the hands of 
faithful Italian Steve to avoid the possible bruising of the plants with 
a metal instrument. 
April i, in 1914, unlike 1916, was an ideal time for planting. We 
brought our roses from the field in lots according to varieties and after 
trimming the roots and after cutting away bruised parts, we plunged 
their roots into a large tub of clay batter which was made of a mixture 
of clay mixed with water thinned down to a thick consistency which 
would thoroughly coat the roots. The reason for this is manifest. 
The soil of the beds is very rich and the clay prevents the possibility 
of the fine particles of manure burning the tender roots. • 
Two pairs of hands are needed to plant the roses. One man dug 
an eight inch square hole with a garden spade, the other man, placed 
the plant in the hole, having taken great care that the roots were un- 
crossed and freely spread out and that the hole was large enough at the 
bottom to receive them. Our plants are all budded upon Manetti. 
We plant our buds from three to four inches deep according to the 
length of the neck. In some plants lateral growth starts very near 
the edge of the bud and this growth must not be buried more than an 
inch and a half. One man holds the plant at the proper depth in the 
hole while the other replaces the soil, patting it constantly, as the 
roses should be tightly planted to insure the firm setting of the young 
fibrous roots which will at once shoot forth. 
When the . oses were all in place, we tapped the soil sharply be- 
tween the plants with a brick to further compress it. We did not 
water the plants at once for there were no fibrous roots to take up the 
moisture and the ground might have become sour. 
Immediately after planting, we turned to pruning. There is no 
fixed rule for this, it is a matter of judgment. We advocate hard 
pruning. We first took out all dead wood and all wire-like growth. 
In two-year plants the strong shoots should be the size of a good sized 
lead pencil. These we cut back to three to five eyes, always pruning 
to the outer eye. The weak growth we cut back to one to two eyes. 
The ideal plant has a free space in the centre with strong growth radiat- 
ing at angles from the buds. This form insures free circulation of air. 
After pruning we spray with copper solution, one to one hundred. 
The standard solution to be ordered at any seedsman may be used. 
