APRIL. 87 



ON BEDDING AUTUMNAL ROSES. No. 11. 



Before I enter on the chief part of my present letter, let me advert 

 to what I said last month on the subject of shading for beds of 

 Autumnal Roses. I have said that the canvass for covering the beds 

 should be of the thinnest possible texture consistent with strength ; 

 I now wish to add a few lines on the subject of support for the 

 canvass. The most suitable, light, and, at the same time, economical 

 supports, are bows or arches of stout iron-wire (about half an inch is 

 the most serviceable thickness), bent so as to range at least eighteen 

 inches over the heads of the plants, and so to allow sufficient space 

 for the free passage of air all round. 'J'hese arches should be of a 

 length enough to penetrate the edges of the beds to the depth of 

 eighteen inches at least in the mould (or more, if the nature of the 

 soil be loose and open), and tlie arches may be tied together with 

 twine, thin wire, or not tied at all, as may best suit the fancy of the 

 amateur. I should advise no tying at all, as it seldom happens that 

 it is required, unless heavy storms of wind are prevalent, accom- 

 panied with hot sun ; and the want of them greatly facilitates the 

 rapidity with which the gardener is enabled to remove the whole 

 apparatus when it is not required ; for this should always be done, as 

 every one must be aware that the iron arches and canvass give an 

 unsightly and nursery-ground appearance to the pleasure-garden. 

 The great advantage, therefore, of using the wires as I have de- 

 scribed them consists in tlie facility they offer for immediate removal 

 wdien they are not of use, it being quite within compass to erect the 

 whole apparatus and attach the canvass, which should be tied to 

 the arches with tapes fixed at the corners, or to remove it altogether, 

 in five minutes ; in addition to which I may add, that the expense is 

 a mere trifle. I need not here say that, in addition to using the 

 canvass during the brilliant mid-day sunshine, it is of the utmost 

 advantage to put it over the beds during heavy storms of rain or 

 hail. Who is there who has not sighed at seeing the fruits of his 

 patience and toil totally ruined for a time by the too impartial pelting 

 of the pitiless storm ? 



I now wish to mention the soil and composts best adapted for 

 growing Roses ; and this applies equally to standards, dwarf-worked 

 Roses, or those on their own roots. I must first premise that the 

 Rose is in general more or less destitute of fibrous roots, depending 

 chiefly for nourishment on long, thick, and sometimes clubbed roots, 

 and not penetrating very deeply into the soil (hence its liability to 

 be torn up in high winds), and therefore, contrary to most bedding 

 plants, requires a more adhesive soil than they do. Next, that it may 

 be safely laid down as a good general rule, that the Rose (to bloom 

 it to perfection) requires a richer soil than most other plants ; indeed, 

 I am not aware of ever having found the soil too rich for a Rose. 

 What in other tribes of plants seems to encourage growth and foliage, 

 repressing tlie inclination to bloom, is with them the reverse. Of 

 course, I do not mean by this, that this, or, in fact, any principle may 



