42 



THE OAIWENEM'S MONTHLY 



\_Ftbruary, 



45°, not more, and this would be ns ^rciit an 

 angle as that at which most houses are built. 



" W.J." says, " a forcing-house for Roses should 

 always face south." It would be better to have 

 it face a little east of south ; getting the morning 

 sun, which is generally conceded to be mo.st 

 beneficial. Antl this is why I consider a house 

 facing east and we^t belter; pref<^ring to have 

 the sun early and moderate for eight hours ; 

 avoiding airing, and dispensing the delightful 

 growing temperature which such a situation 

 would give, rather than four or five hours strong, 

 and necessitating the use of the ventilators. 



'■ W. J." must not suppose that the writer allows 

 his bushes to get into bad condition, merely for 

 the pleasure of tying them down ; hut as a prac- 

 ticing gardener it has been my fortune to take 

 one or two situations where through neglect the 

 bushes had got into a bad state ; and, at a season, 

 November, when to cut them to break the lower 

 buds, would have been a ruinous proceeding; 

 and by pegging them down I secured a fine crop 

 for the Winter, which my employers informed 

 me excelled any crop the houses had ever given. 

 It is for such cases, or where bushes get too high 

 for the low houses in which they are sometimes 

 planted, that the practice^ becomes particularly 

 useful, and for such cases the idea was given. 

 After the buds break, the old parts may be cut 

 out and tlie pegs removed. To cut the head of 

 a rose bush— divest it of all its leaves, and expect 

 it to break strone shoots from half ripened 

 stumps of canes, is a species of vandalism that 

 would never be practiced, and an expectation 

 that would never be entertained by any sound 

 practical gardener. Plants grown in pots may 

 have well-ripened wood, and will stand more 

 severe pruning than those in the border. 



The varieties recommended in the former ai-ticle 

 " may '" and should " be kept in shape by skillful 

 pruning." As I did not intend giving any full 

 " method " for " Forcing Roses," but only to offer 

 a few suggestions, vide opening paragraph of 

 article in question, I did not particularize on 

 the treatment suited to the different sorts named. 

 Marechal Xiel is a strong growing climber, and 

 does well, tiained near the glass, on a back wall, 

 or to stakes or trellises across the border, if not 

 placed so as to give much shade. Safrano, Bon 

 Silene and Isabella Sprunt may be grown in the 

 same house ; but as Bon Silene likes more heat, 

 it should be placed at the warm end. Yellow- 

 Tea and Niphitos require more heat than the 

 above named sorts ; and as they do not grow so 



strong, may bo grown on the shelf over the pipes. 

 Souvenir de la Malmaison, I think gives better 

 colored buds in Winter when grown in pots, 

 although it does well when planted as the others. 

 The buds are im])aticnt of excessive moisture, 

 which spoils the outer petals in dull weather. 



I liave drawn my conclusions after years of 

 close observation and practice as a Rose Grower 

 for the Boston and New York markets, where I 

 have disposed of thousands of buds grown on 

 my own account, and also as manager for other 

 commercial e.stal)lisliments. 



All due deferencie for the opinions of" W. J.," 

 which he has a perfect right to hold and advo- 

 cate ; and I believe that equally desirable results 

 may be obtained by different methods, under 

 proper management. 



CULTIVATION OF THE ZONALE GERANIUM 

 FOR EXHIBITION. 



BY H. COKBEXT. 



The few remarks I have to set before your 

 readers concerning the cultivation of this old 

 favorite plant, may seem simple to some, but 

 may be of interest to younger readers. Having 

 grown plants for exhibition in England, and set 

 the ball rolling on the same style in this country 

 in the far west of Kansas, I will do my best in 

 giving my system. 



The Geranium is one of our finest bedding 

 plants, and makes as good a show for Fall in- 

 door decoration ; so I think a few plants (grown 

 as plants) some four feet in diameter, are well 

 worth having. A cutting struck in Fall, can by 

 the next Fall be grown into a plant, three to 

 four feet through. Some people may say it is an 

 easy matter to grow a Geranium ; but to grow 

 even a Geranium for exhibition, and bring it 

 to perfection, needs skill and practice. I prefer 

 one year old, strong, bushy plants. Take them 

 in February or beginning of March, and shake 

 off all the old soil, removing a part of the roots; 

 then pot in good soil, and into as small a pot as 

 possible, giving no water until all the soil becomes 

 dry. Then cut your plants close in, so as to 

 leave about two buds on a shoot. Give them 

 a good soaking of water, and they will all 

 break regularlj'. Keep them now in a small 

 greenhouse, as close to the glass and as cool as 

 possible, so as not to let them suffer, and by 

 Spring you may re-pot them to a seven-inch pot, 

 using equal parts of loam, leaf mould and cow 



