1869.] EOSES AND EOSES SHOWING. 173 



the moat beautiful of our flowers, nothing, however, coming amisa to them, and 

 they are therefore becoming the terror of horticulturists. Now that the plague 

 is on us in full force, we can, of course, all very easily account for what no one 

 foresaw." In such an immense and thinly-populated country as Australia, the 

 catching of these animals to keep them within bounds would be an absolute 

 impossibility, and even if practicable the expense would be enormous. 



Welbeck. William Tilleet. 



KOSES AND EOSE-SHOWING. 



SnjU;ROM many parts of England letters have reached me, conveying the 

 uHir unsatisfactory intelligence that the first bloom of Roses has been indif- 



fferent. Aphis and mildew, with buds sealed, dingy in colour, and falling 

 unexpanded, were doubtless very prevalent features in the summer bloom 

 of 18G9. But to all who may have experienced these disappointing results I 

 would say, take courage. Wash your plants to destroy the insects ; dust with 

 sulphur to check the spread of mildew ; water if dry ; cut off all remnants of 

 passed and passing flowers, and bide your time. I have often seen an indifferent 

 summer bloom followed by a magnificent display in autumn ; and if the present 

 and next month prove favourable, there is good reason to expect such a result 

 this year. 



But, while the summer bloom of Roses has been generally indifferent, it has 

 not been universally so. In my nurseries, and in other nurseries and well-known 

 gardens in Hertfordshire, the flowers on the old plants never were finer or more 

 abundant. The mass of my young plants are hardly yet in full bloom, as it is 

 my practice to remove the first blossoms, by which means larger heads, a more 

 regular growth, and more thoroughly ripened wood — conditions essential to the 

 future well-being " of the plants — are obtained. This stopping of the young 

 shoots produces an intermediate flowering in July and August, which has been 

 already good, and still promises well. 



It may be some consolation to those who have suffered disappointment this 

 year to know that it is a matter of season rather than of cultivation, and there- 

 fore more or less beyond their control. The cold nights and sunless days are at 

 the bottom of the mischief. I have recently been through the principal nurseries 

 in France, and find the same result, only in an exaggerated degree, there as here. 

 Never were the Roses there so few and indifferent. The grand Rose Show which 

 was to have taken place at Brie-Comte-Robert in July has been postponed, and 

 the growers intend showing their flowers at Tournay in September. 



Finding but little work for the eyes when in France, I made the best of the 

 circumstances by using my tongue and ears in discussing various knotty points in 

 Rose culture with the most intelligent growers. 



In England there are two classes of rose-growers, — those who grow for plants, 

 and those who grow for flowers. The two points are not usually combined in 



