W E MAKE a specialty of the Rose, 
and from the endless list of vari- 
eties grown we have selected 
such kinds as we have tested thoroughly and 
found to possess special merit in color and vigor of 
growth. VVe offer our roses so cheap that many who re- 
ceive our catalogue for the first time write us to ask if our roses are well rooted, as they 
do not see how we can sell good roses so cheap. For the benefit of new customers we 
wish to state that our roses are strong plants grown in three-inch pots, eight to fifteen 
inches high (the size most florists catalogue as “ Large size, price, 25 cents each ”). Our 
roses are not forced, but they have been grown strong and vigorous, and they will grow 
at once and begin to bloom almost as soon as planted, as hundreds of letters from our 
customers testify. We ask a trial of our roses, and if they do not grow and thrive as we 
say they will we will cheerfully refund the purchase price. We grow all our roses 
from the cutting and they are therefore on their own roots, and when killed down the new 
shoots that put up are genuine. 
NOTES AND CULTURAL DIRECTIONS. 
Preparation of Rose Bed. — Select a sunny spot not undermined by roots of trees, 
and quite level with the grass-plat. Prepare your bed by digging to the depth of 18 inches. 
Any good garden-mold will grow roses, but they are especially fond of small clods of clay 
in the soil. If the bed is not underdrained naturally, provide drainage by means of 
broken bricks and stones at the bottom. Add one-fourth old, well-rotted cow manure to 
the soil and clay. Ground-bone ranks next to old cow manure as a fertilizer, and may 
be used in place of it or in addition to it. Roses are rank feeders, and amply repay the 
food and moisture given to them, both with luxuriance and elegance of foliage, and pro- 
fusion and size of bloom. 
After the plants have been set out, which should be early in the season, keep the soil 
loose by frequent shallow stirrings till the middle of June, when they should be mulched 
by coveting the surface of the bed to the depth of an inch or so with old manure or any 
strawy material, to prevent evaporation. An occasional application of manure-water 
greatly stimulates growth, and growth, with most roses, means bloom. 
Winter Protection. — North of the Ohio the everblooming roses require protection 
during the winter. Remove a little earth from the side of the rose-bush, cut out all the 
tender growth, and strip off most of the leaves, then bend the bush over and cover to a 
depth of three or four inches with loose earth ; over these put a light covering of boards or 
boughs. Any mode of protection is as good as this, provided it prevents sudden freezing 
and thawing, and does not hold moisture about the stem, causing decay. A straw cover- 
ingis apt to harbor mice. Do not cover too soon ; wait until the plants are well matured 
and severe weather is beginning ; light freezing will not hurt them. Uncover when the 
frost is leaving the ground, and spring is fairly opening. Prune out all injured wood and 
level the earth. 
Roses in Pots. — The Tea, Bourbon and China roses should be selected for growing 
in pots in the house ; these will give you a succession of bloom, if treated in the following 
manner : Drain the pots well with broken bits of crock ; mix one part of well-rotted cow 
manure with two parts of light, friable soil, and press firmly about the roots in potting. 
Keep well watered during the summer, more scantily in fall and winter. Keep all flower- 
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