Discussion — Rose Culture. 65 



Mr. Plumb also mentioned a number of the most desirable kinds 

 of the different varieties. He said that the public need to be in- 

 formed both how to cultivate and what kinds to buy. If they have 

 no knowledge of the different kinds, and judge of them by the fine 

 colored plates presented by agents, they will be very likely to be 

 disappointed; they must learn what they want, and how to treat 

 them, and then they will succeed in raising fine roses. There are 

 many thousand kinds now cultivated, many of them differing but 

 slightly from each other. Foreign cultivators have, by extra care, 

 refined our roses so as to develop very fine colors, with various tints 

 and shades and form of flower, but at the expense of vigor. This 

 vigor is what all our roses lack, and it is this which makes them so 

 liable to mildew, the great trouble in rose culture of the present 

 day. There are many of the half hardy kinds of the Bourbon and 

 tea roses that are very desirable for cultivation in house or lawn, if 

 carefully protected in the winter; they must be well covered or 

 taken up and kept in the cellar. When kept in the cellar, much 

 judgment and care is necessary to keep them at the right tempera- 

 ture, and to regulate the moisture so as to prevent growth and yet 

 •so as to retain their vitality unimpaired. The plants should be 

 kept as near dormant as possible; this is sometimes difficult to do, 

 as they are very apt to grow, and if dried down so as to prevent 

 this, it is liable to be carried too far and weaken or kill the roots. 

 Without this " ripening process " for winter keeping, as it is called, 

 it is impossible to engage successfully, to any extent, in rose cul- 

 ture. The requisite knowledge and skill for this can readily be ob- 

 tained by experience. 



Mr. Kellogg said that great care should be taken in the prepara- 

 tion of the ground, to secure the best development of the rose. 

 He would put on the ground designed for the bed, six inches of leaf 

 mold from the woods, six inches of well rotted manure, well pul- 

 verized and mixed with the soil eighteen inches in depth; then, 

 early in the spring, procure good, strong plants; set them two 

 inches deeper than they stood in the pot or ground before; mulch 

 freely, and prune severely, especially old bushes. If you want a 

 heavy fall bloom from your hybrids, do not let them bloom too 

 much in June. Select from the following good varieties the kinds 

 and number you wish to cultivate: 



5 — Hort. So. 



