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Preparing the Beds

Soils The good loam so often found directly beneath the sod is excellent, but is greatly improved by being broken, even pulverized, to a depth of at least two spades and thoroughly mixed with about one-third its bulk of rotted manure. Fresh manure must never be allowed to touch the rose-roots. Indeed, the more thorough-going way is to make sure of the nether layer of soil by removing the upper one. First of all, peel off the sod (it will produce excellent compost, see section on "Fertilizers"); next take out the top layer of soil to the depth of I foot and pile it nearby. If the soil below that is good, rich loam, or a fair mixture of clay and loam, it may remain. Loosen this with a garden fork to a depth of another foot, preferably not upturning it, and mix with it well-decomposed manure, and then put back the top layer of loam in which to plant your roses.

If, on the other hand, you find the subsoil poor, barren, and unproductive, you may have to remove it altogether. Haul it away, and put your chopped-up sods in the bottom, grassside down, to rot and make future plant-food. If you have ready from the previous year a compost made by mixing onehalf or two-thirds of sod, with the balance of manure from the cow-stables, use it in the bottom of your bed, and make a future storehouse of rich nourishment for your roses. Another hint: A few broken bones may be mixed with the soil in the bottom of the trench, say a peck for a bed holding a dozen roses. These will decay slowly, and furnish plant-food for three or four years to come.