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JOURNAL OF HOETICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENEE. 



[ Januftiy 25, 1872. 



to those sorts which possess distiuct form and colour. — Euwakd 



LUCKHCESI. 



WINTER CULTURE OP THE ROSE TREE. 



Now-A-B.iYS Perpetual Hoses flower in thj open ground as 

 well towards the end of October as they do in the spring. In 

 the immediate neighbourhood of Lyons the temperature has 

 not yet sunk below 32° F., and in spite of the nearness of lofty 

 unow-girt hihs, which cliill the moisture of the atmosphere, 

 the cold is more piercing than severe. The leaves of Eoses do 

 not commonly fail until after a frost of from 5° to 7° F., and 

 even then they are not longer than a fortnight in making theu' 

 re-appearauce if the weather turn milder. The plants them- 

 selves do not like either heat or cold in excess, but rather a tem- 

 perate and circulating atmosphere ; and do not show theii' proper 

 fuUness, freshness, or shade of colouring in auy other season 

 but the spring and autumn. It is theu that the Teas, and 

 more especially the Noisettes, come forth in aU their true beauty. 



We are at this very time (November) pottiug-off Eoses for 

 winter-flowering in the greenhouse, but in so doing we have to 

 be careful which we select for that purpose, as forcing does not 

 agree equally well mth them aU. Those which do not thrive 

 under such treatment are Jules Margottin, Muie. Moreau, Eose 

 du Eoi, La Eeiue, Lion des Combats, Toujours fleuri, Achille 

 Gonot, and the umnerous class of Geauts. Others show them- 

 selves less insusceptible of forcing, and such are the Teas, the 

 Noisettes, and the Fles Bourbons. Among these there are Mme. 

 Falcot, de Safrano, de SombreuU, and Gloir'e de Dijon, from 

 all of which some pretty flower for a bouquet may be obtained. 

 Bengals succeed best as forced plants, and particidarly Hermosa, 

 Cramoisi superieui'e, and Prince Charles. There are certain 

 varieties which flower well in vases, but their branches stretch 

 out and straggle about too much to form a flue head, though 

 they do excellently as cut flowers. Of these Ludovic Letault, 

 whose flower bud is Uke that of Ceut-feuilles, is one. 



Li November and December slips or grafts should be taken 

 from a fine weU-rooted plant, placed in 5 or 6-iuch pots con- 

 taining neither too sandy nor too clayey a soil, watered in 

 order to settle the earth, and two days afterwards sunk some- 

 what deeply in the open garden. There let them remain for a 

 year, and in the following November or December lift, clean, 

 and carry them into a hothouse, where a bed of tan, so regu- 

 lated as to begin heating shortly after their insertion in it, is 

 prepared. Heat the house gi-adually, and water and besprinkle 

 the plants moderately, taking care o give them snatches of 

 air whenever the suu reappears. Insects, which will not be 

 backward in maldng their presence known, should be treated 

 with the fumes of tobacco. Should there be any signs of 

 flagging, water the base of the Eose once or twice with water 

 slightly tainted with " purin " or guano ; but be very cautious 

 not to use it too highly nitrogenised, or else it wiU cause the 

 roots to rot instead of strengthening them. 



Six weeks in the hothouse is about the time required for 

 bringing the Eoses into flower, and after their blossoms have 

 been aU gatheretl for decorative purposes, they may be removed 

 to a cold or temperate house until the spring, aud theu planted 

 out of doors to take their chance. This is not always a favour- 

 able one, especially during the summer. When there are 

 several houses devoted to this kind of culture, three or four 

 successions of forced Eoses can be produced, between each of 

 which a difference of temperature should be kept up ; thus, the 

 second aud third houses should have temperatures varying 

 from 60° to G8° F. , when the first batch is beginning to go off. 



Pits can be used for forcing Eoses instead of greenhouses, they 

 should be heated by means of a good bed of horse droppings 

 fresh from the stable, over wliich a thick coating of light earth 

 or sand is spread, wherein the pots are plunged, the whole 

 being covered at night, and upon foggy and very cold days. 

 It is in this way that spring Eoses are prepared for sale in the 

 markets before those out of doors have come into flower. In 

 this case Roses recently potted in November or December can 

 be used, and not those of the preceding year. The forcing of 

 them in a greenhouse for the spring is the same. 



We think that our way of forcmg Eoses is an immense stride 

 in the art of cultivation, when the Eomans knew of it more 

 thau two thousaud years ago. History tells us that the 

 Egyptians, who were still at the front of civilisation, sent the 

 Emperor Domitian as an invaluable gift, a bouquet of Eoses in 

 the winter time ; but this token of deference was received by 

 the court with a contemptuous laugh, so plentiful was the 

 flower at that period in Eomc. Martial says, " The sweet 



scents of spring time are wafted about the streets, and lavish 

 flowers, in garlands woven, strike with dazzling lustre upon 

 the eye. O Egyptians ! do you send us corn, and we will 

 give you Eoses in return." During the pubhc games the ediles 

 would send crowns of Eoses to senators and other persons of 

 repute, aud a similar adornment was, on the occasion of her 

 marriage, laid upon the forehead of the bride. Guests at 

 banquets quaffed the old Faleruiau in goblets crowned with 

 Eoses, and the same seductive flower cUfi'used its perfumes 

 from the tables and the couches on which the guests were 

 lying. Even the streets were sometimes, according to Charles 

 Malo, strewn with Eoses. To obtain them during the winter 

 the Eomans used to heat theu' conservatories with boiling 

 water. 



But long before this the Greeks had cai'ried the cultivatiou 

 of the Eose to a high pitch. They wore it on their heads, 

 decorated their furniture, and perfumed then- wine with it. 

 During the war of Cerra, so great became the sensuahty of the 

 Lacedemonian troops, that they did not care to drink any wine 

 but that which was perfumed with Eoses. The kings of 

 Bithyuia used to recline upon pillows embellished with the 

 Eose ; and the Jewish priests, in theu' great ritual, had their 

 heads encircled with it. The taste for this flower ran to such 

 an immoderate height during the times of Paganism, that a 

 reaction took place with the introduction of Christianity, and 

 we And Tertulhan and Clement of Alexandria declaiming 

 against Eoses, because the crown that Christ had woru was one 

 of thorns. 



But this was only a fleeting shadow of bitterness aud sorrow. 

 The chaste aud beautiful Itosi^ soon reasserted her claims 

 to the devotion of every Icindly heart aud noble spirit. The 

 frequency of its usage in the rites and feasts caused such plea- 

 sure, that the serioirs Christians did not hesitate to admit it in 

 their celebrations. The papacy created an order of the Golden 

 Eose, and then the simple and odorous Eglantine became the 

 prize of the floral games. — [La BeJrjique Hortkole.) 



ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY'S MEETING. 



The first meeting of this Society for the present year was held 

 at Burlington House on New Year's evening, when, notwithstand- 

 ing the attractions of the festive anniversary, there was a good 

 attendance of the members. Among the donations to the 

 Society's library received since the last meeting were the fifth 

 volume of the " Catalogire of Memoirs," pubhshed iu the Trans- 

 actions of all the learned societies, issiied by the Eoyal Society, 

 one of the most elaborate and useful works ever pubhshed ; to- 

 gether with the usual periodical works treating upon entomology. 



The Secretary said he had received communications from Pro- 

 fessor Newtou, aud Messrs. H. Doubleday and J. Gould, relative 

 to the destruction of dragon flies bybirds, the last named gentle- 

 man stating that the hobby and kestrel feed on those insects, and 

 that smaUer birds vnW reaihly attack the smaller blue dragon flies 

 commonly seen about rushes growing in nmuiug .streams. A 

 letter was also read from Mr. Eiley, the official entomologist of 

 the State of Illiuois, stating that the whole of tlie valuable col- 

 lections of the late Mr. Walsh had been destroyed iu the fire at 

 Cldcago, and Professor Westwood stated that of Mr. Stimpson, 

 being by far the largest collection of Crustacea ever formed, had 

 also there perished. 



Ml-. Miller called attention to a recent statement of M. Emile 

 Joly, published iu the Memoirs of the Academy of Cherbourg, 

 to the effect that the genus of supposed Crustacea founded by 

 Latreille under the name of Prosopistoma is iirobably only the 

 immature condition of Covins, one of the genera of Ephemerida?. 



A memoir was read by Mr. A. Butler containing descriptions 

 of some new exotic moths of the group Pericopedes ; and Mr. F. 

 Smith read a letter from Mr. J. 'S. Moggridge, on the habits of 

 some species of ants belonging to the genus Aphenogaster, 

 observed at Mentoue, at the end of last October and beginning of 

 November. These ants harvest the seeds of various plants in 

 chambers, sometimes excavated iu solid rock beneath their 

 nests. He liad seen them busily engaged iu conveying the seeds 

 into their chamber, aud found that iu most cases they gnawed 

 off the radicle to prevent germination, but he had also observed 

 sprouted seeds being brought out agaiu, as apparently unsuited 

 for storing purposes. Many of these seeds had theu" contents 

 extracted through a hole on one side ; and though he had not 

 seen the ants actually feeding on them, he was incUued to believe 

 that the stores were made for the purpose of supplying food dm-ing 

 the winter season, whilst tlie ants, although not dormant, were 

 confined to their nests. It was stated that Colonel Sykes had 

 communicated a memoir on tliis subject to the Society many 

 years ago, proving that certain Indian ants store up grain for 

 food dm-ing %vinter, and have the instinct to bring what remains 

 imconsiuued to the surface to cb-y it after the dosing storms of 



