March 22, 1913 



HOETICULTUEE 



495 



OUTDOOR ROSES. 



A paper read before the New York Horti- 

 cultural Society on March 15 by Edwin 

 Jenkins. 



Introductory. 

 The rose has ever been a favorite 

 flower of mankind, perhaps the great- 

 est favorite of tliem all. Poets of 

 every land and of every age have 

 sung its praises, and rightly so, for 

 truly a plant that yields such delight- 

 ful fragrance, that comes arrayed in 

 such diversity and such splendor of 

 color, is worthy of the homage of all. 

 Something tells me, however, you 

 would rather hear from me something 

 more to the point, what soil and ma- 

 nures are best suited to its needs, and 

 how best to combat its insect and 

 fungoid enemies. 



Location of a Rose Garden. 

 First, an open spot where no large 

 overhanging trees can cut off the life- 

 giving sunshine or absorb the neces- 

 sary light or where the roots (and it 

 is well to remember that the roots of 

 some trees travel a long way in search 

 of food) of trees are likely to enter 

 the rose beds and rob the roses of 

 their own rightful food. If you are 

 fortunate enough to have the choice 

 of soils, choose a medium heavy loam, 

 rather than a light, sandy, or black, 

 peaty soil, and if it is of a yellow or 

 reddish tinge and has been growing 

 grass for a number of years, so much 

 the better. However, let no one de- 

 spair because their soil is not just 

 what we could wish, but take heart 

 from the thought that good roses can 

 be grown with a little intelligent care 

 in most any soil that is not absolutely 

 acid or alkaline. The best aspect is a 

 gentle slope to south and east as the 

 rose, in common with most all vege- 

 tation, thrives and luxuriates the bet- 

 ter for being kissed by the morning 

 sun. And if the chill winds which 

 blow from the north and west are cut 

 off by some friendly building or belt 

 of trees, so much the better. The 

 rose loves a cool, moist medium, for 

 its roots, but it cannot endure wet 

 feet. To make sure that our roses 

 will not suffer from a water-logged 

 sub-soil, test pits should be dug at 

 several different points of the pro- 

 posed location; these test pits should 

 be at least four and a half feet deep 

 and if in average weather water 

 stands more than a few inches deep 

 in these pits, the ground should be 

 tile drained. Should you find it neces- 

 sary to drain be sure to "do a good 

 job. Put the tile down at least four 

 feet and cover the top two-thirds of 

 the joints with tarred paper, and do 

 not be led into any false notions of 

 accelerated drainage by putting 

 gravel or other porous material 

 on top of the tile; it is a mistake 

 and leads ultimately to trouble: re- 

 fill the ditch with the soil excavated 

 from it and tramp it thoroughly. I 

 shall not attempt to advise you about 

 the design of the rose garden as that is 

 work for the garden architect after 

 studying all the local conditions. But 

 whether the belt of trees or building 

 previously referred to are in exist- 

 ence or not to shelter the rose garden 

 from the cold winds, I would build a 

 pergola along the north and west 

 sides. This pergola may be as simple 

 or as elaborate as your taste dictates 



or your purse will allow; be that as it 

 may, the pergola, besides furnishing 

 some protection to the rose garden 

 from the wind and to the rosarian 

 from the hot sun makes a splendid 

 place for the various climbing or 

 rambling roses and is a charming fea- 

 ture in any rose garden. Whoever 

 designs the rose garden should keep 

 in mind certain practical features, 

 such as easy means of access for the 

 periodical mulchings, and that narrow 

 beds are to be preferred because they 

 are easier worked without tramping 

 the soil in wet weather, when tramp- 

 ing would make the surface hard and 

 sticky, which, when dry would bake 

 and exclude the air.- 



Preparation of the Soil. 

 Dig deep, should be the motto of 

 every grower of outdoor roses. Noth- 

 ing less than two feet of well ma- 



ADVERTISING TALKS 



BY 



Ralph M. Ward 



nured, thoroughly broken up soil 

 should satisfy the earnest rosarian, 

 and in most cases to get this it will 

 be necessary to remove entirely about 

 one foot of the sub-soil and cart in 

 good loam from elsewhere to take the 

 place of that removed. That this 

 sounds like a big undertaking I am 

 well aware, but for those who can 

 afford it it is well worth while, for 

 human nature being what it is. there 

 is one pleasure in enjoying the ex- 

 quisite color and delightful fragrance 

 of the rose and there is another pleas- 

 ure — more earthly perhaps but none 

 the less potent— in having better, big- 

 ger, finer roses than our 'neighbor. 

 The competitive spirit is strong in 

 mankind whether it be in the display 

 of wealth or the display of roses. 

 What manures shall we use in pre- 

 paring the soil? If it is to be had use 



No. 2 



The New York wholesale market 

 has one cut flower buyer who can 

 consume more than any twenty i 

 other buyers combined. At times 1 

 when the market is glutted he is 

 the salvation of the growers. Why 

 can he consume such quantities? 

 Because his flowers are properly 

 advertised. After Mr. Gentleman 

 Florist from the Avenue, and Mr. 

 Ordinary Florist from the side 

 street, each take a few boxes, Mr. 

 Advertiser Florist steps in and 

 takes the balance, generally at a 

 price consistent with the volume. 

 When the New York Florists' Club 

 suggested that florists take a few 

 tickets for the National Flower 

 Show for distribution, most men i 

 had twenty-five or fifty in their | 

 minds. Up pops Mr. Advertiser, 

 saying he will take 5,000. Correct 

 advertising is the most powerful 

 trade-getter known. Mr. Advertiser 

 is known by the trade he has and 

 it is impossible to down him. And', 

 besides, people like to buy from 

 the man who does the largest busi- 

 ness, because of the reasons why 

 his business is so large. 



cow manure, and use it in large, and 

 impressive, quantities. If one-sixth to 

 one-eighth of the bulk of prepared soil 

 is cow manure it will hardly be too 

 much; do not put it at the bottom or 

 in layers, but thoroughly incorporate 

 it with the whole mass of the soil. ' 

 A generous sprinkling of bone meal 

 throughout the mixture will be benefi- 

 cial as it will supply the phosphoric 

 acid which is deficient in all animal 

 manure. Naturally, if cow manure is 

 unobtainable, horse, sheep or pig ma- 

 nure will make a good substitute, 

 though there is something about cow 

 manure that is very palatable to the 

 rose. 



( To be continiiid. ) 



RESTORING A WORN-OUT PAS- 

 TURE. 



Editor HoRTICULTtJRE. 



Dear Sir: 



I have a lawn of ten acres which Is 

 used for hay and pasture. It is all 

 run out, got weeds and parts bare. 

 I have top-dressed several times with 

 rotten barn-yard manure. The ground 

 hasn't been broken in thirty years 

 and I don't want to plough or break 

 it up. As I know that would be the 

 best thing to do with it, please tell 

 me the next best thing to do. I am 

 thinking of harrowing it this spring 

 and seeding it with permanent pasture 

 seed and spread some good fertilizer 

 on. Please let me know through your 

 paper how much seed to use per 

 acre, etc. Yours truly, 



A SUBSCBIBEB. 



I would advise Subscriber to sow 

 a good fertilizer on his ten-acre plot 

 as soon as possible. Then to use a 

 disc harrow both ways, to work the 

 fertilizer in thoroughly. This would 

 also loosen the old sod and leave the 

 ground in good condition for seeding. 

 Sow 15 lbs. of clean red-top and 28 lbs. 

 of Rhode Island bent per acre, if used 

 for lawn. If used for hay and pasture 

 alone, use 25 lbs. of timothy with the 

 red-top leaving out Rhode Island bent. 

 See that the ground is well rolled 

 after sowing. 



Henbt Wiu). 



Conyers Manor, Conn. 



TO KEEP BRUSSELS SPROUTS. 



Editor HoETicuLTtTBE : 



Dear Sir — I would like to know how 

 to keep Brussels Sprouts in the 

 winter, if you can keep them by hang- 

 ing them up in the cellar. 

 Yours truly, 



W. H. M. 

 Pittsburgh, Pa. 



Brussels Sprouts may be kept in an 

 ideal root cellar but there are very 

 few of these and it is safer to heel 

 them in in a cold frame. Do this when 

 they are dry and protect from severe 

 frosts, but open the frame and venti- 

 late on every favorable occasion. We 

 have good ones now that have been 

 kept this way since Nov. 15th. 



E. Jenkins. 



The first installment of the press 

 service of the "Nat. Council of Horti- 

 culture," by J. H. Burdett, of Chicago, 

 includes notes on making and repair- 

 ing lawns, indoor seed planting, pre- 

 paring soil for a garden, substitutes 

 for manure, points about sowing seed, 

 and fertilizers. 



