Roses like a good firm, rich soil, what gardeners call ‘unctuous loam.’ It feels almost greasy between the fingers, and many plants love it. If your soil is light and dry, you must dig in some farm manure and, if you can get it, some clay before you plant Roses. If it is a heavy, cold clay, you should add lime, sand, and leaf-mould. In October the places for your Roses should be well dug and dressed, as November is the best month to plant. If you live where there is danger of autumn frosts, you should plant in the middle of October, or as early in November as possible. We are giving you the general rule about Roses, but some gardeners like to plant in March, when the frosts are over. If you buy Roses in pots, you can put them out at any time except during a frost. In hot summer weather you would naturally watch them at first, and give them shade if they seemed to flag. When you put a plant out of a pot, you must be careful not to disturb its roots and to give it plenty of water. If necessary, break the pot, as that would disturb the Rose less than shaking and shoving it. Go to a good firm for your Roses, and, if possible, one that will sell you Roses on _their own roots_. We are not going to tell you about various grafted Roses, because we think that while you are a child you will find them troublesome, as they often send up shoots from the wild briars on which the Rose you want has been grafted; but we warn you that you will not get Roses on their own roots unless you go to one of the great Rose-growers. When your Roses arrive, do not leave their roots exposed to the air a moment. Cover them with a sack or matting, and take a pail of water with you in which to dip each Rose as you plant it. Then make a hole about a foot wide each way, and just deep enough to allow you to spread the fibrous roots out to left and right of the stem. Hold the Rose in its place, and work a quantity of fine earth amongst its roots; and put the _collar_, the point at which the garden rose is budded on to the briar, from one to three inches below the surface. When you have put enough earth, tread it firmly down, and tie the Rose to a strong stake, so that the wind cannot shake it and worry its roots while they are trying to take hold of the soil. The best modern growers do not approve of manure as a mulch in winter. They say it does little or no good, and they prefer a loose soil surface. Soot dusted over the beds is beneficial, and so is a dressing of basic slag in the autumn.