ox THE CULTURE OF TALL OR CLIMBING ROSES. 



371 



curatelv to a scale can give an idea of the f 

 excellent habit of this tree, standing as it { 

 dues on a clean single stem, and forming a | 

 globular head witli a fine bold outline, 

 which maj' be varied by pruning lo form an 

 umbrella or semi-globular head, or may be 

 allowed to feather down to the ground, and 

 form an egg-shaped tent. 



Every weeping tree gives the idea of be- 

 ing depressed, and its very name " weep- 

 ing" implies a lack of comfort ; therefore it 

 should not be alone, but have a partner, 

 whose rosy face should look upward, and at 

 the same time look light and cheerful. To 

 intertwine a weeping ash with roses would 

 seem to mingle joy with its weeping, and 

 make a striking contrast, since it could not 

 fail to excite surprise to see a tree that usu- 

 ally hangs its head, and never shows a 

 flower, come forth at last arrayed in such a 

 bloom. 



Various devices have been resorted to to 

 hide the unsightly shank or stem of the 

 standard rose, with more or less effect. I 

 have sowed sweet peas around some, and 

 planted other climbing plants round others, 

 and have succeeded very well sometimes 

 with such twiners as the ipomcEas, &c., 

 forming a cone of elegant flowers, and 

 making the rose-stake serviceable to sup- 

 port a succession of flowers after the roses 

 had faded. Still these creatures of a day, 

 the ipomceas, &c., deserted me in my utmost 

 need, for the least foul weather made them 

 useless ; and if they grew freely, they would 

 not stop at any reasonable length, and, being 

 so delicate when young, the smallest acci- 

 dent was sufficient to make a blank. The 

 want of evergreens inaflower-garden in win- 

 ter has long been felt, and, in short, to obtain 

 a succession of beautiful living objects is the 

 aim of every gardener in planting a garden. 



Now in this garden there exists, whether 

 by design or accident I know not, a thicket 



of tall yew-trees, and in front of these some 

 very tall rhododendrons, and drawn up be- 

 tween the yews and the rhododendrons 

 there stands a fine rose-bush, and, after the 

 rhododendrons have flowered and faded, 

 the rose blooms in the face of this " dismal 

 grove of sable yew." And it is to this con- 

 trast of bright rose-colour against dark green 

 that I wnild invite notice : it sets off the 

 rose to the greatest advantage, and always 

 attracts attention, it being altogether un- 

 looked for from such a sombre subject as 

 the yew to wear a blush or other rosy hue 

 upon its sullen face. Now, although the 

 common yew-tree be well adapted to sup- 

 port a climbing or other rose, from its pa- 

 tiently enduring to be clipped or pruned into 

 anj^ reasonable or even unreasonable form, I 

 would prefer the Irish yew, and make the 

 head of the rose stand high enough to bloom 

 above the yew. It is the ordinary system 

 that nature follows to elevate the panicle 

 or cluster of flowers of a plant above the 

 foliage. By this combination we get rid 

 of the unsightly rose-stake, by effectually 

 hiding it in the thick foliage of the yew, 

 and, instead of a leafless rose, with a long 

 grey switch of a stem tied to round iron or 

 square tree all the winter, we have an ele- 

 gant evergreen tree, admirably suited to the 

 stiff formal lines of geometrical flower-gar- 

 dens ; and surely a crown of roses, if pro- 

 perly worn, would set off to advantage the 

 staid and sober virtues of the upright yew, 

 neither would it derogate from its dignity 

 thus to become handmaid to the queen of 

 flowers. 



The Robinia pseud-acacia, or common 

 yellow locust-tree, having beautiful pinnate 

 foliage, will make an admirable rose-tree ; 

 and the apple and pear-trees, beautiful and 

 rosy in themselves both in flower and in 

 fruit, in certain situations might be em- 

 ployed with excellent effect to prop roses. 



Cultivation of Cranberries. — The Ohio 

 Cultivator says that most of the experiments 

 tried in that state, in the cultivation of cran- 

 berries, have not been attended with much 

 success. Several cultivators have tried 

 them on wet black muck, similar to their 



natural soil ; but the plants grow but little, 

 and the grass and weeds soon get the mas- 

 tery. The Yarmouth Register (Massachu- 

 setts) thinks that damp, barren sands is the 

 only soil on which cranberries can be grown 

 successfully. 



