HOUSE AND GARDEN 
May, 
1914 
quicker and more certain results. In comparing prices you 
should note carefully all remarks and all omitted statements as 
to size, age, whether dormant or potted, etc. 
When you are ordering you should also be careful to state 
when you want your plants shipped. Dormant roses should be 
planted just as early in the spring as the ground can be worked; 
not later than mid-April for this latitude. The two special pre¬ 
cautions to take in handling the dormant roots are to plant them 
deep enough so that the joint or union where they have been 
grafted will he three inches or so below the surface; and to 
keep the roots from drying out before you plant. This point 
where the bud was united to the root-stock in grafting will be 
noticeable by an enlargement and a scar. Any sprouts coming 
from below the graft will have to be removed at once. They 
will be readily distinguished from the legitimate ones by the 
fact that each leaf has seven, instead of five, small leaflets. The 
roots of dormant plants are shipped carefully wrapped. As 
soon as you receive them, soak them for several hours in a pail 
of water, with burlap and moss packing 
around them. If for any reason you 
should have to keep them for several 
days before setting out, dig a shallow 
trench, pack them in it closely and cover 
the roots with fine, firmly packed soil. 
The plants from pots may be kept any¬ 
where it is light and protected from 
frost, taking care, of course, not to let 
the balls of earth and roots get dried out. 
The preparation of the beds is an im¬ 
portant subject; and as roses are grown 
more generally in regular beds than any 
other way, let us review first the condi¬ 
tions which are essential to success with 
garden culture. In the first place, the 
site picked out should get the full sun, or 
as near it as possible. Then it should be 
suits these should be dug out and filled with specially prepared 
soil. It is not such a difficult task to do this if one has the proper 
ingredients at hand—plenty of manure and good, heavy loam, pre¬ 
ferably largely made up of sod from the roadside or a good 
pasture. The depth to which the beds should be dug out will 
depend upon the nature of the soil. Usually two feet will not be 
too much, and six, 
or even twelve, 
inches more better 
still. If the subsoil 
is stiff it should be 
broken up as deeply 
as possible with a 
pick before filling 
the bed in. In dig¬ 
ging the bed out, be 
careful to throw the 
sod and good loam 
The climbing ramblers have been improved of late. 
They now have large, wide-open flowers of re¬ 
markable beauty 
The old favorite perpetual, Frau Karl Druschki, 
now has a new and striking pink form 
well drained; roses 
like a fairly heavy 
soil, but not a wet 
one. And it should 
be, if possible, well 
“ventilated”; that is, 
located in a breezy 
and airy spot, as this 
will make a material 
difference in the 
health of the plants 
and of the foliage. 
Nevertheless, if you cannot procure all these conditions ideally, 
don't get discouraged ; careful work and a little ingenuity will 
overcome many natural obstacles. 
If a regular garden is to be made, measure it off carefully, so 
that the position of the beds can be determined. For the best re¬ 
—M 
The blood-red Richmond is interesting for its bud¬ 
like flowers; it may be trained as a climber 
to one side, so they may be used, while 
gravel and worthless subsoil may be 
carted off. After digging the beds out. 
unless the subsoil is sandy or gravelly, 
fill in eight to twelve inches with land 
plaster, cinders, broken brick, or coarse 
gravel; and over this—to keep the soil 
from sifting down through—put a layer 
of sod, straw or manure. 
The soil for filling in the beds should 
be well enriched. If some has to be 
brought in to take the place of that which 
has been thrown out, get it as heavy and 
stiff as possible. If a good proportion 
of sod may be had, so much the better, 
but chop it up quite fine. In making a 
bed some years ago 1 used heavv mud taken from the bottom of 
a shallow pond, and this, mixed with the garden soil, gave excel¬ 
lent results. As the soil is put back into the trenches, plenty of 
manure should be added; there is little danger of getting too 
much. Cow manure is to be preferred, but other will do if that 
is not to be had. Commercial “shredded cattle manure” can now 
be bought by the bag, and is very satisfactory. If the bed is to 
be planted soon after making, the manure should he well rotted. 
Also the soil should be firmly tramped down, but not packed hard, 
when being put into the trench. Along with the manure it is very 
desirable, though not essential, to use a good sprinkling of coarse, 
or “inch,” bone. If manure is not to be had, a good dressing of 
lmgh-grade fertilizer and of coarse bone should he worked into 
the soil, but the manure is to be preferred. The top six to eight 
inches of soil should be clean, rich loam, without manure. If it 
is deemed not rich enough, add a little bone flour. We want to 
induce the rose roots to strike down, out of the way of drouth 
