1876.] 



AND HOETICULTURIST. 



363 



am sure there are few of our lady friends to 

 ■whom a small bouquet of sweet-scented violets 

 would not be desirable in the cold days of winter 

 and the earlier, stormier period of spring. 



Not only for its usefulness and fragrance 

 should we cherish, but also for its poetic asso- 

 ciations. How, when in a musing mood, the 

 sight of this simple flower conjures ujd associ- 

 ations, that enables us as " of old " to gambol 

 amidst " the sweet scenes of our youth " in feats 

 of skill and wanton merriment ; yea, years have 

 rolled on, and life with its stern duties has some- 

 what shaded the little romance within us; 

 yet the time when the first-plucked violets were 

 stealthily and bashfully presented to a favorite 

 fair one, are as present to our memory as when 

 ■" youth was young." 



The Heart's Ease, from the harmonious com- 

 bination and contrast of its colors, is often 

 strikingly beautiful, and is frequently odorifer- 

 ous, but it holds not the same place in our sym- 

 pathies as the modest but sweet violet, that has 

 little to attract the eye, but, like other objects, 

 human as well as floral, would pass unnoticed 

 in the crowd were it not for the beneficence they 

 shed, the fragrance that they yield; and I only 

 hope that the time is drawing nigh when this 

 plant will be more universally cultivated. Any 

 given rules for successfully growing the same are 

 unnecessarj' ; but I have found, myself, whether 

 grown in pots or frames, they delight in nice 

 drainage, a little charcoal, light loam, and plenty 

 of air. 



FORCING TENDER ROSES. 



The writer wishes it understood that he makes 

 a distinction between growing plants under glass 

 and forcing them. We grow, for instance, grapes 

 in cold graperies ; no gardener would call that 

 forcing grapes. We grow a variety of plants 

 under glass for winter-flowering, such as Roses, 

 Carnations, Violets, Heliotropes, Bouvardias, &c., 

 but in general we do not call that forcing. By 

 forcing, the writer understands the using of extra 

 artificial means to produce flowers out of their 

 season, as Roses, Lily of Valley Hyacinths, &c., 

 about Christmas. Undoubtedly, Mr. Grey's me- 

 thod, as given in a former number, is a good one 

 ior growing roses; as to the forcing of them, the 

 writer diff'ers with him in some points. If we 

 want to force roses, we have first to understand 



why it is there is such an abundance of fine 

 roses in March, and so few about Christmas. It 

 is on account of the sun being more powerful 

 in February and March. Mr. Grey speaks highly 

 of a span-roofed house, facing east and west. 

 At what angle the roof ought to be built, he does 

 not mention, and that is a matter of the most 

 importance. Flat-roofed houses are not good 

 for growing flowers in winter. Commercial men 

 know the value of sunlight, as witness their 

 troubled faces if a week of cloudy weather pre- 

 cedes Christmas. 



If we consider all this, we come to the conclu- 

 sion that it is light and sunrays that help us so 

 much in bringing out the flowers, and we should 

 build our houses with a steep roof — say at an 

 angle of 55°, or more. This may seem too much 

 to some gardeners, but let them consider how 

 low the sun is when most needed. Houses with 

 such roofs would be either very high or very 

 narrow, and a hip-roof becomes necessary. The 

 northerly roof ought by no means be steep, for 

 the less glass on the north side the better ; a 

 warm, hollow wall would be preferable. Best 

 quality glass should be used, and of 10x12 size, 

 with all the wood-work as light as possible. 



That light is very essential to plant-life is 

 nothing new, and that fine colors are produced 

 by it is also well known. Very little airing is re- 

 quired, for sunheat in those days is more bene- 

 ficial than injurious. 



A forcing-house for roses should always face 

 South. It will bring on flowers at Christmas 

 that would not be seen much before Easter in a 

 span-roof facing east and west. 



As to the bed manure, &c., the writer agrees 

 with Mr. Grey, but not with his method of renew- 

 ing old bushes by tying them down to the 

 ground. 



The Roses recommended by Mr. Grey can easily 

 be kept in shape by skilful pruning, provided 

 they are not planted too thick, a fault which is 

 rather too often committed, the lesult of which 

 is that the plants are forced to grow up too 

 straight. The exclusion of light from the 

 side buds causes them to break feebly and pro- 

 duce small buds as a consequence. As to the 

 Marshal Niel, that is nowhere so much at home 

 as when it can run on a trellis near the glass. 



Now, as we know that roses near the glass are 

 generally the best in size and color, let us not 

 lay the bushes to the ground. Should it become 

 necessary to make roses break near the ground, 

 they might be cut in the early part of slimmer, 



