42 
THE HOME GARDEN. 
ly formed, and freer from diseases or insects. To prepare 
a bed for roses, the ground should be well spaded and pul¬ 
verized to the depth of a foot, and the fertilizing material 
then dug in. The best time for this is as soon as the frost 
is sufficiently out of the ground to allow of working. 
Some florists consider roses among the easiest of plants 
to raise, while others class them among the most difficult. 
Many amateur gardeners are very successful with them 
merely by feeding well, and placing them in the full sun¬ 
light—this they must have—and pruning them closely, 
both after they have bloomed and when they begin to 
sprout in the spring. 
Cuttings of roses may be grown in the way recom¬ 
mended in the last chapter—by using bottles of water with 
cotton batting tied firmly around the mouth—but it is 
safer to procure them of the florist already started, as they 
can be sent safely by mail almost any distance. The 
best time to plant cuttings is in July and August; and 
these should be cut off close to the old wood, and several 
“eyes” should be left above ground. Wet sand is highly 
successful for the first soil; it is less trouble where there 
are several cuttings than the bottle process, and a dozen 
or so may be set quite close together in the same pot. If 
covered with a glass, they will be kept moist, and attain to 
the dignity of plants in two or three weeks. 
The Chinese plan of raising roses is from layers, which 
generally succeeds; but an indispensable condition is to 
have already large plants not too high in an open bed. 
The layering is done during any one of the summer months, 
and late in the autumn the plants are ready to take up. 
When the roses have been procured as small plants, and 
the ground is ready to receive them, a successful cultivator 
directs : “Wet the roots of the roses, so that the earth will 
adhere to them ; make holes of suitable size; put in the 
plant slightly deeper than it has grown ; spread out the 
