as they are taken out. Loosen up the floor of the trench with a pick and on this, if the ground needs draining, which it will if it is a compact, sodden surface, put a layer of stones, cinders and other material that will not decompose. On top of this place the best of the sub-soil mixed with a generous dressing of well-rotted manure. Finally, add the sod, well broken up, and the top soil, also enriched with manure. Then fill in the bed with enough good top soil, unmanured, to bring it two or three inches above the adjoining surface. Make sure that the surface of the bed, after it has settled, will be about one inch below that of the adjoining sod in order to retain the moisture from rain. This preparation of the bed should be done at least several weeks in advance of planting time.

In composing the soil for the rose bed, it is well to remember that the Hybrid Perpetuals require a heavy soil containing some clay. For Teas and Hybrid Teas a lighter, warmer soil is better. In his most admirable "Book of the Rose," the Rev. Andrew Foster-Melliar tells an amusing incident in connection with soil. The good rector was dining out and had been served with a generous portion of plum pudding. It was very dark, rich, strong and greasy. Absent-mindedly he sat back in his chair gazing at the dish intently. His hostess, noticing his hesitancy, asked if anything were wrong with the pudding. "Oh, no," replied the rector unthinkingly, "I was thinking what rare stuff it would be to grow roses in."

Top soil from an old pasture, if it be a moderately heavy loam, taken with the grass roots and chopped very fine, will do excellently for the Hybrid Perpetuals. For the Teas and Hybrid Teas, mix with soil of this kind about one-quarter of its bulk of sand and leaf mold to lighten it. Remember that all the manure that is used should be incorporated with the lower two-thirds of the bed; the upper third should not contain any recently added manure as it is apt to harm the roots of new plants.

PREPARATION AND PLANTING

In the vicinity of New York and further north, I think it will be found that spring planting is best. South of Philadelphia many roses are set out in the fall, for here they become well established before cold weather sets in, and are therefore ready to start active growth at the first touch of spring.

If spring planting is chosen the plants must be put in the ground early—at the very first opportunity—so that they will have time to become firmly established before hot weather. Pot-grown plants from a greenhouse cannot, of course, be set out until all danger from frost is past. Roses that are planted so late cannot be expected to show really satisfying results in bloom the first year. Roses that are planted early in the spring, if field-grown stock as explained below, will with proper cultivation give at least a reasonable amount of bloom the first year, though not so much as in later years.

One hears a great deal of argument on the question of whether roses are best grown on their own roots or when grown on a sturdier stock, such as Manetti for Hybrid Perpetuals and brier for Hybrid Teas, which are probably the best rose stocks for this country. It seems to be the general consensus of opinion that roses budded on these stocks will thrive much more luxuriantly and give much better blooms than those which depend upon their own root systems. It is necessary, however, to set the point at which the shoot is budded to the stock about two inches beneath the surface; otherwise there is the constant danger that suckers will spring from the root and, if overlooked for a time, these will kill the more desirable shoots.

Several kinds of roses are offered by the dealers for setting out in the spring. There are the pot-grown roses mentioned above—the only form in which many of the climbers may be readily obtained. Mail-order houses make a practice of sending out the Hybrid Perpetuals, Hybrid Teas and Teas also in this form of very young plants grown from cuttings under glass during the winter. Costing more, and surely far more dependable, are the field-grown roses that have originally been budded on Manetti or brier and, usually in two-year-old form, taken out of the ground the previous fall while dormant, to lie in cold houses until ready for planting. Such roses as these will surely bloom the first season and are far better equipped for the shock of being set into the open ground again than the pot-grown plants that have never had a taste of real garden life.

A word of warning might profitably be uttered against the cheap roses budded on multiflora stock, grown in Holland and sold in some of the department stores. They are short-lived and very poor in comparison with plants on brier and Manetti. Multiflora has been entirely discarded as a stock by English and Irish growers.

Roses on their own roots have the advantage of being cheaper, due to the saving of labor in striking cuttings rather than budding—one-year-old plants costing a dollar for six to a dozen; two-year and three-year-old bushes, which are, of course, far more desirable, cost more in proportion. Dormant, field-grown budded roses cost, in the two-year-old size, from thirty-five cents to a dollar each.

A dormant Tea rose as it is received from the grower for planting in March. After planting it should be still further pruned.

Before setting the plants examine each carefully and cut off the broken roots with a sharp knife, as well as all eyes that may appear on the root stock, in order to forestall suckers. The plants should be set immediately upon their receipt from the nurseryman, so that they will not become dried out. If they seem dry it may be well to puddle the roots in thin mud just before setting. Make the hole large enough to accommodate all of the plant's roots without crowding, remembering to put the budding point not less or more than two inches below the surface and with the roots spread out nearly horizontally, but inclining downward towards their ends and without crossing one another. This will not be an easy matter, for in shipment the roots will have probably been so compressed that they extend almost directly downward from the collar. After the plants have been firmly set and the earth carefully packed in around the roots, rake the soil to loosen it up over the whole surface. The soil will probably be moist enough at the time to need no watering.

With the pot-grown plants, the moist ball of earth that comes about the roots is carefully retained intact and placed in the hole prepared for the plant. Set the plant firmly in place by pressure with the soles of your shoes, give a generous watering and finally break up the surface of the soil with a rake.

It is absolutely essential to keep the surface of the ground loosened with a hoe and a sharp steel rake throughout the summer. After very hard rain loosen the soil as soon as it is dry enough to work, to conserve the moisture.

FERTILIZING

In striking contrast to the exquisite beauty of the rose is the food that we must give it in abundance if we would have the most healthy plants. But for the true rose enthusiast the turning over of a muck heap to find manure in just the right form, or the dilution of the by-products of the cow barn with water to make the best stimulant, have nothing about them that is in the least objectionable.

If the soil at our disposal is inclined to be rich in clay, we can probably do no better than incorporate well-decomposed stable manure with it, by raking it, well pulverized, into the surface in the early spring. In sandy or gravelly soils, however, cow manure or that from the pigsty will serve far better. It must be remembered that when properly set out the rose plant is comparatively