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THE GARDENERS' MONTHLY 



[May, 



supplied with water, and when cold weather sets 

 in remove to a cool dry cellar, from whence they 

 can be brought into the greenhouse as often as it is 

 deemed to be necessary, in order to obtain a suc- 

 cession of bloom. After the flowering season is 

 over they can be removed to the cellar, and in the 

 spring planted out in a well-manured piece of 

 ground, in order to obtain good growth for an- 

 other season, but unless the plants grow freely and 

 make considerable flowering wood, it is advisable 

 to permit them to remain in the ground for another 

 season. But after forcing for about three seasons, 

 it is advisable to destroy the plants, for they are 

 then apparently so weakened as to be compara- 

 tively worthless, their place being supplied by 

 other plants which should be specially grown for 

 this purpose. 



Propagation is effected by division of the plant, 

 also by cuttings of the half-ripened wood, the latter 

 method furnishing the best plants. Of course they 

 are small, but if properly cared for will soon make 

 fine and handsome specimens. 



ROSES IN WINTER. 



BY E. R. CLEVELAND. 



I take it for granted that the majority of your 

 readers will agree with me when I state that there 

 is no portion of the business of a gardener — be he 

 professional or amateur — of greater importance, or 

 demanding a larger amount of constant attention 

 and forethought than that of having an abundant 

 supply of the "queen of flowers" during the win- 

 ter and early spring months. Roses, no doubt, are 

 always prized and always welcome, but doubly so 

 at the present season, when their delicate arid 

 beautiful colors and delicious fragrance delight the 

 senses, and give us a glimpse of summer in ad- 

 vance. Hitherto the florists in the eastern cities — 

 notably New York — had, to a large extent, a 

 monopoly of the winter rose trade, and did an ex- 

 tensive and lucrative business with the various 

 cities of the West. True, the florists in the latter 

 grew roses more or less extensively, but neither in 

 quantity or quality were they able to compete with 

 the more favored growers of the East. It is un- 

 necessary just now to enter into particulars showing 

 how this may be accounted for; suffice it to say, 

 that as a matter of fact there is no real difficulty in 

 the way of growing as good roses five hundred or 

 one thousand miles west of New York as in the 

 latter city. 



As a proof of the correctness of this statement 

 I will briefly relate what I saw on the occasion of 



a visit which I paid, a few days before Christmas, 

 to the gardens of Mr. Gordon, situated in the 

 suburbs of the City of Cleveland, (Jhio. Last 

 spring Mr. Gordon decided to commence the cul- 

 tivation of roses for winter, on a rather extensive 

 scale, and rightly concluding that the way to se- 

 cure success was by deserving it, he left nothing 

 undone which was likely to aid in reaching the 

 point aimed at. The result must certainly have 

 far exceeded his most sanguine expectations. Pre- 

 vious to commencing the erection of houses in 

 which to grow roses, Mr. Gordon wisely secured 

 the services of one of the best rose growers in 

 America, in the person of Mr. J. C. Gooding. 

 Many of your readers have doubtless already 

 heard of Mr. Gooding, he having gained a most 

 enviable reputation while in charge of the rose- 

 houses of Mr. T. J. Slaughter, of Madison, N. J. 

 Under the superintendence of Mr. Gooding, Mr. 

 Gordon erected two houses of the following dimen- 

 sions, viz.: length, 150 feet; width, 32 feet; height, 

 16 feet. These houses may be described as three- 

 quarter span, and are in every way admirably 

 suited for the cultivation of roses. In the center 

 of each house is a raised bench or stage having a 

 similar slope to that of the roof. On this stage is 

 placed some twelve to fourteen inches of soil in 

 which the roses are planted. The plants (Spring 

 struck cuttings) had been placed in position in one 

 of these houses about the first of September, those 

 in the other nearly a month later. At the time of 

 my visit nothing could possibly exceed the health 

 and luxuriance of these plants. I should be afraid 

 to repeat the number of blooms (which a refer- 

 ence to Mr. Gooding's book showed ) had been cut 

 during the month or two the plants had been in 

 bearing. I can, however, speak of the quantities 

 of bloom to be seen in all stages of advancement, 

 and no language could possibly be too strong to 

 use in praising the quality of the flowers. I can 

 honestly say that, for size, substance and color, I 

 have never seen them excelled, and I have had 

 some little experience in these matters. I meas- 

 ured some half-open buds of Cornelia Cook, and 

 found the circumference to average eight to nine 

 inches, whilst Catherine Mermet and Adam were 

 equally fine in proportion. Indeed, it is useless 

 particularizing, for every variety which Mr. Good- 

 ing had under cultivation yielded flowers of the 

 most superb quality. The principal varieties which 

 he grows are as follows, viz. : Catherine Mermet, 

 Cornelia Cook, Safrano, Souvenir d'un Ami, Perle 

 des Jardins, Bon silene, Marie Guillot, Adam, 

 Douglas, Niphetos and Duke of Connaught. 



