July 29, 1916 



HORTICULTURE 



137 



ROSE GROWING UNDER GLASS 



^ CONDUCTED BY 



Bonemeal 



Use plenty of hoiiemeal in llie soil at planting time, 

 especially the coarser grades, as now is the time that 

 we can get it right where tlie roots will he ahle to find 

 it and use it. The hone can be added to the soil before 

 It is wheeled in or it can be siiread on the benches after 

 they are filled and ju.st before planting. The latter 

 method insures an even distribution, wliich is vei y im- 

 portant in growing roses, for if the fertilizers and 

 manures are not applied evenly the plants will not grow 

 evenly and will be mucli more difficult to handle. There 

 will also be manv plants that will not produce all the 

 roses that thev should. After applying the bonemeal 

 to the benches it will l)e necessary to go over them to 

 work it in, unless <jld plants are to be planted. If this 

 is to be done the bone will get into the soil while plant- 

 ing for it is necessan- to make large holes to accommo- 

 date the long roots on the old plants. 

 Care of the Boilers 

 With the hot weather now here it will not be neces- 

 sary to fire any more, leaving the boilers idle. These 

 should not be allowed to stand this way for any lengih 

 of time as thev will soon rust, more so this summer 

 omng to the continual wet weather. Clean out all ashes, 

 soot, etc., and spray the boilers on the inside with crude 

 oil. ' Other oils are equally effective but as they are 

 much more expensive it is not advisable to use them. 

 It will not hurt if the grates are sprayed over too, which 

 will add a little to their life. All broken or weak parts 

 should be noted and repairs sent for at once so that they 

 will be sure to be on hand when the fires may haveto 

 be stai-ted again. It will be best to take the smoke pipe 

 between boiler and the chimney down, too, and clean 

 this out well, for if it is left on the boilers full of old 

 soot it will rust very rapidly and will soon have to be 



replace!. 



Disbudding 



Proper attention will have to be paid to see tliat all 

 little buds are removed on time so that they will not 

 lie taking vitalitv from the iilant and at the same time 

 delaying its development. The first buds on old plants 

 that have been pruned and replanted and those that 

 were merely cut back will all have to be taken off and 

 this should" be done as soon as the buds are visible, 

 which will be as soon as they are about the size of a 

 o-rain of wheat. Take them out with one leaf at least 

 to insure a stronger break. 



Drainage in Late Planted Benches 



Houses that are planted from now on must have good 

 drainage, for if the wet weather should continue, trouble 

 is likely to be experienced later if the drainage between 

 the boards is not sufficient. During the hot dry sum- 

 mers we used to have, there was no such trouble, as 

 the jilants dried out just the same. It may be necessary 

 to take up some of the board? and chop off a little along 



one edo-e, but it should be done, and under no cir.-um- 

 stances° should two boards come together without at 

 least a quarter of an inch space between them. 



Manure for Fall Mulching 



It will be necessary to gel quite a little manure in. 

 to get it ready for the fall nuilches. If the weather 

 keeps up it will have to be used sparingly and it must 

 lie well decayed. To get it into this shape it will be 

 necessary to start now and Iceep turning it over eveiy 

 two weeks or oftener if necessary. It will be better it 

 it contains a little short straw as it will be more porous 

 and easier to handle. It should not contain any long 

 coarse straw ov weeds used for bedding. 



Number of Shoots to a Plant 

 Mr. Arthur C. Ruzicka, 



Dear Sir- Will you kindly advise me, what in your 

 opinion is the best number of strong bottom shoots to keep 

 on each Beauty plant when the Beauties are breaking free- 

 ly from the bottom and each plant has put out about six 

 strong shoots together with a few weak ones? 



Thanking you in advance for your kind assistance, l am, 

 Very truly yours, 



L. A. R. 



A'Cto Brun&wic^c, N. J. 



Circumstances alter cases, and before deciding your 

 question it will be well to note several points, to insure 

 the plants against harm. If the plants are strong and 

 healthy, they will be able to carry six shoots in addition 

 to the 'mother growth, which can be removed and 

 shipped to market as soon as it produces a bud thus 

 o-iving the breaks a much better chance to grow. Then 

 there is the soil. If this is poor, not mixed well, con- 

 tains no fibre, it will be a proposition to make the plants 

 .ri-ow On the other hand, if the soil is of a good heavy 

 clav sod with plenty of grass roots to make it porous 

 and contains a third of its bulk of good cow manure, 

 with a little muck added to it and a good sprinkling 

 of bonemeal for good measure, it will be much easier 

 to -row the plants on, and they will take care of niac.i 

 more bottom breaks than they would in the poor soil. 

 With o-ood soil and care in growing, I would advise 

 von to^leave all the six strong shoots, merely removing 

 lh.> weak ones, which shouhl be done wlieu the shoots 

 are only an inch from tlie bottom. Most of these bot- 

 tom breaks ^^■ill bud as soon as they are about six inches 

 hioh making it necessarv to go around (pute otten and 

 disbud all of them. This work sliould be done as soon 

 ■is the buds show so that there will be no energy going 

 into the buds that shouhl have gone to strengthen the 

 pUuit- As soon as the shoots are up to the first wire 

 remove anv leaves tliat touch tlie soil so that there wi,l 

 be no danger from spot, tliis demanding constant at- 

 tention especially this vear. In tying distribute the wood 

 over the wires so that there will lie plenty of chance lor 

 air to circulate all around and Ihnnigli the plant. 



