232 



THE GARDENERS' MONTHLY 



[August, 



THE MANETTI ROSE. 



BV MR. H. B. ELLWANGKK, ROCHESTER, N. Y. 



I know that the Gardeners' Monthly would 

 never with intention mislead its readers ; permit 

 me, therefore, to make some corrections of the state- 

 ments in your June number on the Manetti rose. 



Since the Manetti became known as a desirable 

 stock on which to graft roses our firm has made 

 use of them, importing or growing a considerable 

 quantity each year. This June we will have 55,000 

 roses in flower that are on Manetti roots, and we 

 have planted out for our July budding upwards of 

 90,000 Manetti stocks and 10,000 Grifferaie stocks. 

 This is one-third of our entire stock of roses, and 

 will show in what estimation we hold the Manetti. 



There are many florists in this State, in New Jer- 

 sey, Long Island and Massachusetts, who use (for 

 forcing) plants from cuttings, only when budded 

 ones are not to be had. There is a large number 

 of amateur Rosarians who will have their plants, 

 of certain kinds, worked on the Manetti stock, or 

 who will not have them at all. 



To say, then, that the use of this stock has been 

 wholly abandoned shows you have been misin- 

 formed. The desirableness of its use remains open 

 for discussion, but the fact of its large and con- 

 tinued use is easily proved and is not an open ques- 

 tion. 



Now, as to the qualities, good and bad, of the 

 Manetti as a foster parent. Horticulturists do not 

 find all desired qualities done up in "one parcel; 

 every variety of fruit or flower is lacking in some 

 good feature to be found in another sort. So it is 

 with the Manetti. It does sometimes (often, if you 

 will) throw out suckers from the roots which, if un- 

 disturbed, ultimately choke the variety it has been 

 budded with. This is certainly an objectionable 

 feature, but it will not weigh much when placed in 

 the balance and compared with the qualities which 

 commend it for use. By budding roses on a stock 

 like the Manetti or Grifferaie we propagate many 

 varieties which cannot be grown from cuttings, at 

 least not without great loss; such kinds are Baron- 

 ess Rothschild, Abel Grand, Marguerite de St. 

 Armande, Crested Moss, Gracilis, Persian Yellow, 

 etc. ; we also propagate varieties of somewhat fee- 

 ble habit, like Horace Vernet, Louis Van Houtte, 

 Marie Baumann, XavierOlibo.etc. These sorts are 

 among the most beautiful roses, but they need the 

 vigor of growth which another stock can alone 

 supply. 



The Manetti is a very distinct rose, ^and the 

 suckers it throws are easily told by any observant 



person from any sort in general cultivation. Most 

 roses have five leaflets, though there are a number 

 of light-colored sorts with seven. The Manetti has 

 seven leaflets, often nine, of deep green ; the shoots 

 and thorns are of reddish tinge ; when once recog- 

 nized it is ever afterwards easily distinguished. 



The matter may be summed up thus : Persons 

 who know nothing of roses should obtain varieties 

 which are on their own roots, and be content with 

 kinds like Jacqueminot, La Reine and Paul Ney- 

 ron. Amateurs who are capable of discriminating 

 may be safely trusted to plant budded roses of 

 such kinds as are improved by being worked ; the 

 suckers of the Manetti are easily cut off and give 

 very little annoyance to those who know roses. 



In England there have always been some to op- 

 pose the use of a stock for roses, on account of the 

 trouble the suckers would occasion ignorant plant- 

 ers, but there are now more budded plants in Eng- 

 land than at any previous time. If we could keep 

 off the bugs with as little labor as we expend in 

 keeping off Manetti suckers, the culture of roses 

 would be a very simple affair. 



[Mr. E. is no doubt correct about the Manetti 

 being in use in America for some years past ; but 

 the period we refer to as the time when they were 

 abandoned goes back to twenty years ago at least. 

 And perhaps we were not strictly correct in saying 

 that the stock had entirely gone out of use, even at 

 that time. It would be best to say that they were, 

 about thirty years ago, in almost universal use and 

 then came to be almost abandoned. 



In other respects we can endorse what Mr. EU- 

 wanger says. It is unquestionable that many roses 

 will do much better on the Manetti than on their 

 own roots, and any one who knows that his roses 

 are grafted on this stock, who knows how to tell 

 the suckers from the stock and has the good sense 

 to take them off as they appear, will never be sorry 

 he has a grafted rose. It was not this, however, 

 which rendered the Manetti stock unpopular, but 

 that the majority of people who bought roses had 

 not this knowledge and good sense. In short, the 

 Manetti is a good thing for the intelligent grower 

 and a poor thing for the rest. — Ed. G. M.] 



HEATING GREENHOUSES. 



BY JAMES CURRIE, MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN. 



I have read with interest the valuable hints on 

 hot water and steam heating by Walter Elder in 

 the Monthly, page 72. I am much pleased to 

 see the subject receive the attention it deserves, in 

 fact, calls for, as it has been an open and interest- 



