6 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
OcTOBER 2, 1905 
a 
Tuer Rey. Foster Metiiar 
says—If there was a choice, I should select 
rather the best loam with a tendency to clay, 
_ what a farmer would call strong land. The soil 
should be equally good for quite two feet in 
depth, with effective natural or artificial drain- 
age asasine qua non. By natural drainage I 
mean a subsoil of gravel, stone, sand or chalk, 
and for artificial nothing less than actual pipes 
should be used, laid by a competent man, with a 
fair fall, and outfalls not neglected, but watched, 
cleared and properly attended to. Soil known as 
gravelly is often too quickly condemned. It is 
considered healthy to live on, agreeable to work 
and useful for many purposes, but too hot, poor 
and dry for the cultivation of the best roses; 
still, as I have had to grow most of my own in 
such medium, condémned after careful exami- 
nation by one of the best judges as hopeless, I 
can aver that there is no reason to despair of a 
gravel soil. There will be some soil at least light 
and dry, and powdery, perhaps, but fairly fertile 
on the top above the gravel, and this probably 
the full depth of the spade in the garden, but 
not so deep in the field, should be taken out 
and laid on one side. Though not the soil the 
rose delights in, it is excellent for root forma- 
tion. for the striking of cuttings, for placing 
next to the roots of roses, and for mixing with 
heavy loam or clay in the making up of the beds. 
The actual gravel must then be taxen clean 
away to the depth of two feet at least from the 
surface (some enthusiasts say three feet, but I 
do not thinkit necessary or even desirable), and 
sufficient good strong loam procured to take its 
place. This is expensive, but is absolutely neces. 
sary for the production of fine H.P’s, and will 
last along time. The main part of this heavy 
_ loam should be placed at the bottom where the 
_ grayel was, but a little of the light soil may be 
‘mixed with the upper portion. It is important 
_ to notice that when beds are thus made up of 
_ Tose material in what is naturally a gravel scil, 
the advantage is obtained of such perfect natural — 
_ drainage at the sides as well as at the bottom of 
the beds as could not well be attained in what is 
by nature a good rose soil. Furthermore, tea 
roses may be grown to perfection on gravel soil. 
A plentiful quantity of good manure should in 
this case take the place of the poorest of the 
gravel both above and below the rose roots, and 
_ a little of the heavy loam may be added though 
I do not believe it to be necessary. For teas 
there is no occasion to be afraid of the multitude 
of small stones which are natural to a gravel soil, | 
for I believe that Mr Geo, Paul was right when 
_ he stated in the Rosarian’s Year Book that tea 
_ roses like grit. 
Mr Wm. Paut | j 
states his opinion on soils and manures as fol- 
lows—Almost any soil will produce roses pro- 
vided a proper selection of varieties be madeand 
attention bestowed on the epplication of suit- 
able :nanures. Of course, roses enjoy a rich soil, 
but to keep addir.g cow, horse, and pig manures 
upon naturally rich land is not so beneficial as 
a change to nitrate of soda in the case of light 
soils, or soot for those that are naturally very 
close and stiff. This subject therefore is more 
a question of jndicious manuring than selection. 
The golden rule is to add what the land is most 
deficient in, and never to apply close moisture 
retaining manures to a soil that is nnturally stiff 
and moist. A very dry and sandy compost may 
easily be made suitable by the addition of a few 
loads of stiff loam and clay, also by manuring 
with pig manure, while, in the opposite plan, a 
stiff, poor soil may be worked into equally good 
condition. The ideal material is fairly stiff, not 
too wet, and not less than three to four feet in 
depth. This can be enriched at will. 
Water P. Wricut, 
editor of The Gardener, says on this point—All 
soils will not:grow roses equally well, but most 
kinds may be made to yield satisfactory results. 
There is comfort in this dictum. In particular 
it cheers ti.e heart of the man who has heard so 
much about clay for roses and has no clay within 
a hundred miles of him. The important essen- 
tial is cultivation, the soil trenched, tumbled 
and manured, trees well planted and pruned. 
The best soil requires to be well prepared—that 
is, broken up to a depth of at least two feet, a 
good dressing of stable manure incorporated 
with the bottom spit if heavy soil, cow manure 
if light; and unless the top soil is particularly 
good a sprinkling of bhonedust well worked in 
will be found beneficial. Light soils will be im- 
proved by the addition of that of a heavier tex- 
ture: heavy soils are much improved by the 
admixture of road scrapings, wood ashes or leaf 
mould. Roses enjoy soils which are retentive of _ 
moisture rather than otherwise, but like nearly - 
all other plants will not thrive in those which 
do not allow the rain to pass readily away from 
their roots. Therefore, where the soil or sub- 
soil is waterlogged, the land should be properly 
drained before the planting of roses is at- 
tempted.’ 
In this climate we do not suffer from an 
excess of moisture, and artificial drainage is not 
go necessary. Still there are localities where it - 
is desirable. Where the expense can be incurred, 
all land, however well drained naturally, can be 
‘much improved by subsoil drainage, which has 
the effect of keeping the ground moist, and 
_ therefore 
= 
assists to aerate and'keep it open. The authori- 
ties from whom I have already quoted are in 
favor of good farmyard manure being the most 
suitable to use, either for ix corporating with — 
the soil when the land is being prepare1 or used 
in the spring and summer as a mulch, and very. 
little is suid as to the employment of artificial 
fertilisers. 
Mr Hatsrnap, 
a noted rosarian of New South Wales, gives. the 
benefit of his experience as follows—I have acted 
upon his adyice to advantage, and have therefore 
no hesitation in recommending it. 
Natural and Artificial Manures. 
Nitural manures—horse, cow, &c.—will 
always rank as the best for roses. For mulching 
they are invaluable, and when dug: into rose 
beds they increase the supply of humus (vege- 
table matter) in the soil. Humus is a most im-. 
portant factor of the soil in a dry climate, be- 
cause not only does it supply food for the plants, 
but it generally increases the water-holding 
power of the soil, 
Horse manure is particularly suitable for in- 
corporation with heavy or clay soils and for 
mulching ; it may be used freely in both cases. 
Cow manure is more suitable for light, 
loamy and sandy soils, but it should be allowed 
to rot in a heap for a month or two before 
being used. 
Liquid Manure is the most valuable of all 
manures for the exhibitor, as it can be applied 
in the early spring and autumn, when it is m st 
wanted to force on the young flower buds; and, 
being in liquid form, the roots are able to assi- 
milate it at once. 1t may be made of fresh cow 
manure soaked in water for a few hours, or cow 
or horse manure and nightsoil may be mixed. 
into a thick paste in a cask, and allowed to stand 
for a few weeks. Take half a dipper of the latter 
to a bucket of water for each strong growing 
plant. Young and weak plants require less of 
the manure and more water. Liquid manure is 
best applied after rain. In very dry seasons it 
should not be so strong, but should be used more 
frequently. 
Artificial manures should only be used in 
conjunction with natural manures, and not in 
lieu of them, as they do not supply humus to the 
soil. It ismest important to supply an artificial 
manure, which contains soluble minerals of such 
kinds and in such proportions as will provide 
the proper food a rose requires. These minerals 
have been discovered by analysing the ashes of 
the various parts of the plant, and it has been 
proved that they with the addition of: nitrogen 
are the things of which the plant is made, and 
supply the proper food. Those who 
“wish to study more fully the question — 
of good manures cannot do better than — 
read what Dean Hole and the Rey, 
Foster Melliar have written on the 
subject, asin The Book about Roses 
and The Book of The Rose it is 
exhaustively treated. 
Preparation of Beds. 
Now, in order to carry out proper 
cultivation and to ensure the best 
results, roses must be planted in beds 
by themselyes. Although thero are, .— 
and always will be,a large number 
of cultivators whose roses are growing 
in mixed borders among strong her- 
grow roses to perfection under such — 
conditions. There is no plant that is 
more impatient of interference with — 
its roots than the rose, so that I 
strongly advocate if possible, the sett- 
ing aside of a strip of land which can 
~ te devoted exclusively to this purpose. 
Of course if you want to economise — 
mrt 
baceous plants and shrubs it must be 
said that it is next to impossible to 
