ral arrangement of the garden, the shape and
size of the beds has to be determined. And here, of course, the rosarian
must be guided by his own taste. A few hints, however, from personal
experience may be helpful. As to shape, that is purely a matter of
taste. But whether they be round or square, straight or curved, in size
they should not be too large or too wide to allow of our getting easily
at their precious contents. For _at all times of the year_ roses need
constant and watchful care; and the amateur--especially if a woman,
hampered with tiresome petticoats--must have space in which to move, in
order to pick off caterpillars, cut the flowers whether alive or dead,
and see to all the various needs of the plants, such as weeding,
watering, manuring and pruning. As to width, I find five feet ample in a
small garden; as that allows of three rows of dwarf plants eighteen
inches to two feet apart; and enables me to reach those in the centre
row without injuring the others.

=Making the Beds.=--Let us therefore suppose we are about to make a
straight bed five feet wide and twelve long, in hitherto unbroken
ground, to contain seventeen roses. The first thing to do is to pare off
the turf. The top spit of some eight or nine inches below it, is sure to
be fairly good soil from the fibrous roots of the grass and clover. We
therefore dig it off a space three feet long and the whole width of the
bed, and wheel it down to the further end. The second spit in such land
as my own garden is much poorer, with a good deal of sandy marl in it.
This is taken right out and heaped at the side of the bed, to be taken
away later on. The third spit, which is now exposed, is a cold, sandy
marl, with many stones.

We have therefore a hole five feet wide, a yard in length, and two feet
deep. If the marl at the bottom does not show any sign of water, it may
be broken up with the fork, mixing in a little manure at the same time,
and we can leave it as it is. If, on the other hand, it is full of
water, some of it must be carted away, and crocks, stones, clinkers,
wood ashes, and even bits of turf, grass downwards, put in below to
drain it, as I have already said.

=Bastard Trenching.=--We then begin the regular process of bastard
trenching, digging up the fourth foot of top soil, throwing it into the
hole, mixing it with the broken marl and manure at the bottom, and then
removing the second spit as directed above. This is done along the whole