18; 



MR. JOHN CRANSTON'S CULTURAL DIRECTIONS FOR THE 



ROSE. 



Mr. Cranston, of King's Acre, Here- 

 ford, has proved himself a formidable 

 rival to the Messrs. Lane, Paul, Tur- 

 ner, and other noted representatives 

 of the Queen of Flowers. Since he 

 came into the field as an exhibitor, he 

 has accomplished a succession of 

 triumphs, and the horticultural public 

 now recognize him as one of the masters 

 of the Rose. Mr. Rivers, whom we may 

 call the father of the family, has done his 

 best for lovers of the rose in the " Rose 

 Amateurs' Guide ; " Mr. Paul has con- 

 tributed the " Rose Garden" — a splendid 



votive offering to the Floral Queen 



and now Mr. Cranston offers "Cul- 

 tural Directions," a little book in which 

 ample, and, of course, reliable in- 

 struction is given on all the several 

 departments of rose culture, and which 

 we recommend most heartily to every 

 one of our readers.* 



With the double view of assisting 

 the rose grower to a few useful hints 

 from the pen of a man who is as 

 original in his writings as he is practi- 

 cal in the subject treated of, and to 

 introduce a worthy book and a worthy 

 name,"together with the increase, as far 

 as our influence enables us, of the 

 honourable fame Mr. Cranston has 

 already achieved, we give the following 

 extracts, and refer the reader to the 

 book itself for the lists, and for the 

 calendarial and other information, 

 adding, that while it is one of the best 

 books on the subject, it is also the 

 cheapest. 



ROSE CULTURE. 



Soil. — The rose is capable of being grown 

 in a variety of garden soils, but that is best 

 which contains the greatest proportion of 

 loam ; and a deep stiff loam is what Roses 

 most delight in. The worst of all is the 

 black porous soil, usually seen in town gar- 

 dens, and which contains a superabundance 

 of humus or decomposed organic matter; 

 here the Rose will rarely thrive without 

 a liberal admixture of stiff loam, or even 

 clay. In such cases the better plan is to 

 plant in beds, which should be prepared as 

 follows. Remove the soil to the depth of 

 eighteen inches or two feet. Then — if the 



subsoil be dry — first put in a layer, six 

 inches in depth, of good stiff loam, and fill 

 up to the surface with a compost containing 

 about one third of the original soil, and two 

 thirds of loam, with which a small propor- 

 tion (say one part in five) of well-rotted 

 manure, has been previously mixed. But, 

 if the subsoil is not thoroughly dry, instead 

 of the stiff loam, put in a layer of brick- 

 bats, or any other rough material to act as 

 drainage, and fill up as before. Light, 

 sandy, boggy, and peaty soils may be 

 treated in the same manner. 



Low, wet ground is also unfavourable for 

 the growth of Roses, and if planted in such 

 soils, without the aid of artificial drainage, 

 they soon become mossy and die away. 

 Where your soil is of this character, you 

 must proceed thus : — first of all have the 

 whole of the ground well drained, then 

 trench it over to the depth of eighteen 

 inches or two feet, throwing the mould up in 

 ridges to allow the frost and winds to act 

 upon it; when thoroughly dry, level it 

 down, and where the plants are to be placed, 

 take out the soil two feet deep ; put about 

 six inches of brick-bats in the bottom, then 

 mix some well-rotted manure with the soil, 

 and fill in as before. With a deep stiff loam 

 and dry subsoil, which is the natural soil of 

 the Rose, little more than trenching and 

 manuring will be required, excepting for the 

 Tea-scented and China tribe, for which the 

 addition of sand and leaf-mould will be 

 necessary. 



Manure. — Pig-manure is undoubtedly the 

 best for Roses. Let it lie in a heap for six 

 months, by which time it will have become 

 pretty well rotten ; a small quantity of this 

 applied to each plant, and forked in during 

 the winter or early part of the spring, will 

 have a most beneficial effect. Stable manure 

 is the next best, and should be applied when 

 rotten. Guano and super-phosphate of lime 

 are also recommended by some, but these I 

 have not found to answer in my soil, which 

 is of a deep, stiff, loamy nature, naturally 

 good for Roses. I find the application of 

 these manures produces gross succulent wood, 

 and not the firm hard wood which is neces- 

 sary for the production of fine blooms. 

 Wherever they are used, they should be 

 applied in a liquid state, and, perhaps, when 

 judiciously employed upon light sandy soils, 

 would prove very beneficial. 



Liquid manures are best used in the 



* Cultural Direction for the Rose, with Select Lists of Sorts, and Calendar of Operations, &t., &c 

 By John Cranston, King's Acre, Hereford. Derby: Rowbottom. London : Houlston, and Co 



