THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



-17 



hardiest of the teas and noisettes, 

 are those usually selected to form 

 pillar roses. No rule can be laid 

 down as to the class of roots to be 

 preferred, for that depends so much 

 on the character of the rose to be 

 planted, and in our general remarks 

 on the families of roses, numerous 

 hints are given as to the treatment 

 of individual varieties so as to insure 

 the most vigorous growth. If any 

 rule can be hazarded, it is that as 

 only the most vigorous growers are 

 suited for pillars, so there is not much 

 choice between having them on their 

 own roots or on Manetti. If on their 

 own roots, they will not at first grow 

 so vigorously, for all roses capable 

 of growing at all on Manetti grow 

 with remarkable vigour the first year 

 or two ; but, on the other hand, Ma- 

 nettis sometimes throw up suckers 

 which escape notice, and these soon 

 tend, by their usurpation of the sap, to 

 destroy the rose altogether, a disad- 

 vantage to be balanced against the 

 advantage of a rapid growth at the 

 first start. Perhaps, if the whole 

 case is fairly considered, Manetti will 

 win the day for climbing roses, so 

 immensely does it increase the vigour 

 of the rose it is compelled to nourish. 



The culture of pillar roses cer- 

 tainly demands some skill ; but it is 

 a skill easily acquired by the obser- 

 vant and inquiring cultivator. Let us 

 consider all the points in regular 

 order, so as to dismiss all simple 

 matters with a word, and deal with 

 difficulties as they come before us at 

 such length as their relative impor- 

 tance demands. 



Planting. — In any case the soil 

 must be well drained, liberally ma- 

 nured, deeply stirred, and in a sound 

 condition. It should be of such 

 quality as to produce good wheat 

 or cauliflowers, or it will never pro- 

 duce pillar roses. A pillar rose will 

 require at least one square yard of 

 soil which must not be occupied with 

 shrubs, or grass, or in fact anything 

 but annuals, and other flowering 

 plants of humble growth, all the sum- 

 mer; and every autumn this soil must 

 be enriched with dressings of halt" 

 rotten dung. As the pillars need not, 

 and had better not, be fixed till the 



roses are in their third year, it only 

 remains, after having prepared the 

 soil, to plant firm, and insert one or 

 two ordinary four-feet stakes. If 

 Manetti roses are planted, be sure to 

 place them sufficiently deep to have 

 the point where graft and stock meet 

 two inches below the ground line. 

 Whatever tends to increase the vigour 

 of a rose — such as top-dressings in 

 summer, abundant supplies of water, 

 etc. — must be giveu to pillar roses ; 

 for it is not only desirable to clothe 

 the pillars, but to do so with stout 

 wood, which can onl}' be accomplished 

 by feeding liberally. Let us suppose 

 the roses planted, they are then to 

 be cut down to within one ortwo buds 

 of the base, then are to be allowed 

 to grow the firet season as they please. 

 Pruning. — Early the second season 

 they will require pruning. Now, to 

 prune them properly, the rosarian 

 must bear in mind that it is much 

 easier to induce a tree to grow to its 

 full height than to induce it to form 

 regular tiers of flowering wood all the 

 way from its roots to its summit. 

 This is true of apples, pears, plums, 

 vines, and hundreds of other trees. 

 Keep the leading shoot upright, and 

 do not prune it at all, and it will grow 

 with great vigour, so as continually 

 to increase its length till it attains its 

 maximum height ; but in the mean- 

 time, the leading bud having mono- 

 polized the sap, there will be but 

 few side-branches formed, and con- 

 sequently there will be little or no 

 flowering wood produced. The sap 

 of a tree always rushes upwards; 

 hence, if the leading shoot be trained 

 out of the perpendicular, the side 

 buds are developed, and these assume 

 a vertical form in the majority of 

 cases. It is true that trees do pro- 

 duce side-branches without the aid 

 of the pruner, and that these often 

 take a horizontal or oblique direc- 

 tion ; nevertheless, the general ten- 

 dency of the sap is upwards, and one 

 of the first consequences of allowing 

 a tree to grow in its own way is to 

 cause the formation of a bare stem 

 for some distance from the ground 

 line ; and that tendency is of itself a 

 sufficient argument for pruning pillar 

 roses. In a word, if the pruning is 



