412 



The Weekly Florists^ Review, 



SEPTEMBER 15. 1898. 



the temperature should fall to 45 de- 

 grees on a cold night no harm will be 

 done. Plenty of water at the root and 

 also overhead is required, and these 

 plants will also respond to liberal treat- 

 ment in regard to soil, a fair sprink- 



ling of bone dust in the soil being ben- 

 eficial. 



Propagation is effected by seeds, by 

 cuttings and by grafting, the stock in 

 the latter case being usually the har- 

 dier A. imbricata, but up to this time 

 comparatively few have been propa- 

 gated by the latter methods in this 

 country, the majority being imported 

 from Europe as small plants. 



W. H. TAPLIN. 



THE ROSE. 



Its Cultivation Today As Contrasted With 



Ten Years Ago. 



LKead by Mr. H. Dale at the Convention of tlie 

 Canadian Horticultural .\ssociation, held at To- 

 ronto.] 



At the outset I will say that my ex- 

 perience in rose growing has heen 

 gained under glass entirely. I never 

 having had anything to do with out- 

 door culture of the rose. Looking 

 back ten years I see many changes 

 both in the varieties grown and meth- 

 ods of growing, and in the handling 

 of the output. And I am pleased to be 

 able to say that these changes are all 

 for the better, excepting probably in 

 one particular, and that an important 

 one. namely, the price obtained for 

 our goods. This point I will touch 

 upon later. 



First I will speak of varieties 

 grown. Ten years ago we were grow- 

 ing fully as many or more kinds than 

 now. We had Bride. Mermet, Perle, 

 Sunset, Bennett. La France. Niphetos. 

 Gontier, Bon Silene. Cornelia Cook and 

 a few of the old and well known Mare- 

 chal Niel. Contrast the foregoing 

 with the favorites of today; Bride, 

 Perle and Sunset are about the onjy 

 ones found on the list. A number of 

 new ones have been brought forward 

 for trial during the past ten years, 

 the most of them only to be discarded 

 as worthless. Looking back we can 

 remember the grand flourish with 

 which Puritan. Belle Siebrecht and 

 some others were heralded in; their 

 introducers doubtless admire the very 

 gentle way in which they slipped out 

 again along with Waban, Duchess of 

 Albany, Christine de None and several 

 others. But a few good ones have 

 been sifted from the chaff and we have 



Bridesmaid. Meteor. Hoste, Wootton, 

 Morgan, Cusin and Beauty, and no one 

 will gainsay the fact that the list of 

 today is a great improvement on that 

 of ten years ago. 



But the tendency seems to be toward 

 cutting down the list. The call is for 

 Bride and Maid and each year we have 

 to grow more of these two kinds and 

 less of other varieties, so that now by 

 far the greater proportion of the room 

 is planted with these two. But I fear 

 this continued sameness will be hurt- 

 ful to the reign of the "queen of flow- 

 ers;" she holds sway at present and I 

 believe will continue to do so if new 

 kinds are brought forward which will 

 give us more variety and keep pace 

 with the improvements in other flow- 

 ers, for it cannot be denied that there 

 are great advances being made in 

 some flowers which are in competition 

 with the rose. This is not a new idea 

 I know; others have felt the same 

 thing and spoken of it. but I mention 

 it again as I think it is important. It 

 would be a great boon to us rose 

 growers if just at this time we could 

 get one or two new ones that would 

 combine the good qualities of Maid 

 and be of some different color or form 

 that would make them acceptaible to 

 the flower buying people. Very little 

 has been done heretofore in America 

 in the way of raising new varieties, 

 for although some of the best are of 

 American origin, they have been 

 "sports." and the introducers of these 

 kinds should put forward no claim for 

 honor as originators. Dame Nature 

 deserves all the credit. But mind you 

 I do not blame anyone who, seeing a 

 good thing, reaches out and grasps it. 

 Like Micawber, I have been waiting 

 for "something to turn up" in this line 

 myself for the past ten or fifteen years. 



Methods of Growing. 



Here I see many changes as com- 

 pared with ten years ago; at that time 

 solid beds were used to some extent, 

 and these beds were solid and no hum- 

 bug about it. Mother earth was spaded 



over and enriched with manure, the 

 roses planted and allowed to remain 

 from year to year with a severe prun- 

 ing back in summer, generally about 

 August. So-called solid beds are still 

 used, but they are prepared in quite a 

 different and more elaborate manner, 

 with ample drainage and means for 

 admitting air and introducing heating 

 pipes under the beds. 



Bench roses were grown on sloping 

 benches, each bench or table having a 

 slope to the south of several inches. 

 But of late all benches that I know of 

 are built level and are much easier to 

 manage. I find six feet the most con- 

 venient width, with walks on either 

 side, and would not recommend the 

 use of side benches, as I find the main 

 demand is for long stemmed No. 1 

 stock, and this cannot be grown on 

 side benches near the glass. Late 

 planting was the general practice ten 

 years ago. July and August being 

 looked upon as the proper time to 

 plant. But we have started planting 

 earlier each year until now May 1st 

 is looked upon as none too early to 

 make the first planting, and all should 

 be finished up in July. 



The merits and demerits of grafting 

 tea roses for winter flowering has 

 been a question at issue for t)he past 

 ten years or more. I remember in the 

 year 1887 there was quite a contro- 

 versy among some of the prominent 

 growers in the United States as to 

 whether own-root or grafted roses 

 were the most suitaible for the purpose. 

 It is still an open question. Mr. John 

 N. May at that time championed own- 

 root stock and I note that he still 

 sticks to his colors. On the other 

 hand there are many growers who 

 speak highly of grafting, and I must 

 be allowed to enrol myself among the 

 latter, my past experience going to 

 show that there is a great advantage 

 gained by grafting Maid and Bride on 

 Manetti. I have had no experience 

 with other varieties; probably there 

 are other kinds which would be bene- 

 fitted by using the Manetti or some 

 other stock. 



In regard to handling of our out- 

 put there is not any great change from 

 methods followed ten years ago. Then 

 as now the product was sold direct to 

 the retailer, there not being any flow- 

 ers handled on commission in Canada 

 to my knowledge. But there is a great 

 change In the amount grown, there 

 being fully ten and probably fifteen 

 times as much glass devoted to rose 

 growing as there was at the former 

 time. The trade may be said to have 

 been in its infancy then. I shall never 

 forget about that time I had an or- 

 der come in for fifty white roses and 

 I supplied the order with fifty Niphe- 

 tos. This was the first time that I had 

 been able to supply fifty roses all of 

 one kind at one cutting, and I felt very 

 proud, and that the business surely 

 had a good bottom to it. Our vice- 

 president. Mr. F. G. Foster, was the 

 gentleman who favored me with that 

 order. 

 I think when we look back on such 



