364 



HORTICULTURE 



March 21, 1908 



Abel Chatenay and Mrs. W. J. Grant. Messrs. W. Paul 

 & Son, of Walthani Cross, secured an award of merit 

 for Hugo Eoller. This is a new decorative H. T. The 

 outer petals are bright deep crimson, whilst the pointed 

 full centre is of a soft creamy yellow. Phyllis is the 

 name of a new Baby Rambler sent out by Messrs. H. 

 Mcrryweathcr and Sons, Ltd., of Southwell. It grows 

 outside ti> a height of about two feet, in a very bushy 

 form, with a branching habit, producing long, feathery 

 panicles of flowers in constant succession. The color is 

 a bright carmine-pink, shading lighter in the centre. 

 As indicating roses in favor the following is a list of the 

 "best 18 new roses" which a nurseryman is offering: 

 Betty, after the style of Killarney; Charles J. Grahame, 

 a bright scarlet crimson H. T.; Countess of Derby, a 

 robust growing exhibition rose (H. T.) ; Geo. Laing 

 Paul, a promising crimson H. T. ; Hiawatha, a popular 

 climbing Polyantha; J. B. Clark, a useful exliibition 

 rose of a deep scarlet, shaded blackish crimson; Lady 

 Ashton, a H. T. of vigorous growth ; Madame Constant 

 Soupert, an exhibition tea; Mons. .J. Hill, a finely col- 

 ored exhibition rose; Queen of Spain, described in a 

 previous note ; Richmond, a good bedding variety ; Lady 

 Eossmore, Mme. P. Eivoire, Mrs. G. W. Kershaw, 

 Rosalind Orr, Soui-. de Maria de Zayas, H. T.'s; M. H. 

 Walsh. H. P., and Phyllis, a Polyantha. 



>t%c (aM^^^ 



Large Rose Houses 



Thougli it sounds like treason fo say anything against 

 large glass houses, practical growers are not all in accord 

 with the builders of this class of struciure. A span-roofed 

 house 50 feet wide and some hundreds of feet long must 

 of necessity be high at the ridge, and when to this are added 

 low, solid beds instead of the old-time benches, 3 feet or 

 more in height, the young roses, when planted, are a long 

 way from the glass, and do not start as freely as under the 

 older system. Whethei- this late start is made up for by 

 the use of grafted stock and ease of working wide houses 

 remains to be seen, but more than one large grower, once 

 partly converted to the large house theory, will, in the 

 proposed additions this year, return to the more moderate 

 size. Leaving the question of height, extreme length has 

 its disadvantages independently of the difficulty of hand- 

 ling stock. In a rose-house known to the writer, 800 feet 

 long, there is one part where, directly air is put on, a kind 

 of Independent circuit is set up. and it is easy to see by the 

 behavior of the plants there that they do not relish the con- 

 ditions. Green fly and mildew always attack at this point, 

 and it is thus a kind of safety valve for the section men. 

 In a house of moderate length these independent currents 

 are broken up by partitions or otherwise, and, though this 

 idea may seem far-fetched, there is more in it than at 

 first appears. — Amer. notes in Gardeners' Chronicle, London. 



The question of large versus small houses, as it pre- 

 sents itself to us, is one which will have to be settled in 

 the dear school of experience. The subject has of course 

 two separate phases, first, the cost of construction and 

 maintenance of large as compared with small houses, 

 and second, the question as to which is capable of pro- 

 ducing the higher grade of flowers. The first, we believe, 

 is generally conceded in favor of large houses by those 



■who have considered the matter at all. The second is 

 evidently tlie point which is giving the critic in the 

 above notes some cause for worriment. 



His complaints, resolve tliemselves into two divisions; 

 dangerous draughts owing io extreme length and width, 

 and lack of light, on account of the distance of the 

 plants from the glass. If a house 40 feet wide and 700 

 feet long may be considered large, we can say, as far as 

 our experience goes, that the fears of our critic are not 

 well founded in either case. In this structure the tem- 

 perature and ventilation, both day and night, are under 

 more perfect control than any other house on the place, 

 and we are firmly convinced that, in this respect at least, 

 it is very mucli superior to the eight small houses which 

 it would reqtiire to cover the same amount of ground. 



The point in regard to light we think we have settled, 

 for this house at any rate. Ordinarily the test for this 

 would be by close observation of the plants at the var}-- 

 ing distances from the glass. Applying this rule we 

 must say that, so far, it would take a considerable stretch 

 of the imagination to discover any difference in the 

 plants, which could be attributed to lack of light caused 

 by distance from the glass. But we have also used an- 

 other method. It consists briefly in the determination 

 of the varying intensity of light by a chemical method 

 and we have been assured that it is extremely sensitive 

 and absolutely accurate. Carefully applying this test 

 we have been able io find no difference between light 5 

 feet from the glass and 25 feet. There may be a point 

 at which some difference will be found, but some one 

 will have to .=eck for it in a house considerably wider 

 than 40 feet. 



If the time ever comes when, in place of the whims 

 rud fancies of weak and mortal man, we have exact' 

 tcientific methods for solving tlie complex problems of 

 tlie adaptability of glass structures to plant growth, 

 tlieu and not until then, will the perfect greenhouse be 



jroduced. 



Soluble Fertilizers 



The writer is pleased that Mr. Bishop has derivetl 

 profit from the remarks on fertilizers, is glad to note 

 his letter of the 14th in Horticulttiue and wishes to 

 say a word. 



Mr. Bishop has wished that soluble fertilizers were 

 less so on account of their immediate activity. Like the 

 .lap. "We inquire to know" if he has considered whether 

 or not less of a soluble fertilizer may not sometimes be 

 better and easier to control than more of a less soluble 

 one. 



He speaks of damage done by "injudicious application 

 ol these quick-acting agents." It has been our fate to 

 note the same of about every kind of plant food under 

 tlie sun, but we admit at once that it is easier to over- 

 feed \\a1h something that is one hundred times as strong 

 as some other and, to the user, better known food. We 

 opine, however, had the user less scorn for the chemical 

 composition as compared to something well-known to 



