October 30, 1873. ] 



JOUBNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



327 



MORE ABOUT ROSES. 



CAX stand it no longer. The fit is on, and 

 I, too, must give it vent. " Eoses again !'' 

 Yes ; I am certainly touched with Ros9 lever, 

 and it is not intermittent, but a steady, ever- 

 growing-worse attack. 



"Well, I threw up my hat for the Manetti 

 stock the second year I grew Roses, and it 

 has been up ever since ; and I should like to 

 say, when Mr. Camm says, " I advise all 

 Rose-growers who find theu- Manettis gra- 

 dually dying-down to lift them, and put them in lighter 

 and poorer soil" — Don't. Yes, don't most decidedly: 

 plant them in light soil if you will, but not poorer. That 

 they grow in light soil well, I grant, and so they do in 

 heavy, I do not mean cold blue clay — "gault " we call it 

 here. Ah ! and geologically " gault " it is. Round Cam- 

 bridge it crops-up oftener than it is liked. "Wherever the 

 upper greensand, or coprolite bed.? — our gold mines — are 

 worn away, there is the blue gault, and then woe betide 

 the gardener or farmer. But, dear me ! I was talking 

 about Roses, wasn't I '? Well, I grow Manotti Roses on 

 both light and heavy soils, my garden being boulder clay 

 or drift. I have soils and soils, and I really mean to say 

 that my Manetti- worked plants grow strongest and yield 

 the best blooms on the heavy soil, and I manure heavily, 

 for I show Roses, oh yes ! and win a prize now and then. 

 Do you know — I am ahuost afraid to even whisper it — but 

 I am half inclined to think Mr. Camm soured his soil 

 with heavy manuring at the time of planting his Manetti 

 Eoses ? Do you think he would be down on me if I sug- 

 gested such a thing? I hope not; for it is in my expe- 

 rience that the Manetti does not like much manure till 

 it gets hold, but after that it is like a full-grown store 

 pig that has another month to live — give it him too good 

 if you can ! I believe many good Rose plants aro killed 

 by mulching, much as it is advocated. Cover your Rose 

 bed with fat manure, and after a month what is it ? — 

 cold, cloggy, and wet. My plan is, and my plants like it 

 by their growth, in the spring to cover the beds with good 

 manure (I keep fattening pigs), and to just insert the fork 

 and turn it over, so as to cover the manure and to leave 

 it rough. 



In looking over the list of Rosea that Mr. Beacliey 

 recommends, I could not help wishing he had said Cathe- 

 rine Mermet, one of the best and loveliest Teas in form, 

 colour, scent, and texture ; it is so satiny soft. 



I was almost tempted to write when the talk waxed 

 warm about the frauds at exhibitions. Borrowing, buy- 

 ing, or stealing blooms is equally bad ; and to all who 

 Eractise it I would say with Browning, " There go my 

 eart's abhorrence." But, ah me ! it is often winked 

 at by the authorities, because " they don't want to offend 

 anybody," or " don't want to make anything unpleasant 

 this joUy day," and the exhibitor who shows his own 

 Boses only has to take second or third place. I well 

 remember an exhibitor, .showing against me, borrowing 

 blooms — I saw it done ; but then you see " I did not want 

 No. (67.— VuL. XXT., New Semes. 



to make things unpleasant," and have had the pleasure of 

 licking him since a time or two. 



Now I am mounted — and although my old hobby-horse 

 is rather lame, still he goes — I should like to tell you a 

 few things I don't like to see at Rose exhibitions. 



I don't like to see anyone show Roses that he has not 

 grown ; it ought to lower him in his own self-respect if 

 he has any, and certainly does with others. 



I don't like to see it stated in the rules of a society or 

 show, that no competitor and his flowers will be admitted 

 after a stated time, unless it is intended to carry it out. 

 It is no joke to be in a hot tent with your flowers through 

 adhering to the rules, and then to see other exhibitors 

 bring in their flowers two or three hours after the stated 

 time, in utter contempt of all " rules and regulations," 

 and the authorities winking at it by not liking to make 

 things unpleasant. 



I don't like to see Roses wrongly and badly judged, 

 and the judges acknowledging that " they knew nothing 

 about Roses, and had done their best." This happened 

 to me and others this last season. You see it disgusts a 

 fellow, and rather damps his enthusiasm. 



I don't like to see more than one Rose of a sort in a 

 stand, even if it is ticketed with another name. I have 

 seen five of a sort in a stand of tweuty-fom'. Y'ou see it 

 is not complying with the schedule, and looks dishonest. 

 Two of one sort may get in by accident, but five looks 

 like design ; and if memoi-y is so bad with some, I would 

 suggest ticketing the blooms as cut. 



I don't like to see foliage that does not belong to it put 

 in with a Rose. That is not complying with the rules ; 

 and although one does not like to make things unplea- 

 sant, still it is rather annoying to find a rival first because 

 his foliage is better than yours, when it never grew on 

 the same Rose tree. 



I don't like to see another exhibitor, when putting up 

 his stand next mine, let his elbow go splotch on the best 

 Rose in my stand ; for although it is pure accident, it is 

 liable to get one's "back up " — that takes somewhat from 

 the pleasure of showing. 



1 don't like to see a professional bring up an amateur's 

 blooms and set them up for him. We are only mortal, 

 and the best of us are liable to temptation, and I hope 

 we all like to please our friends. You see, another bloom 

 than the amateur's might by accident get in his lot, unless 

 very great care were used. 



Well, as I do not think you will bs weak enough to 

 publi.sh these very weak jottings , I will confidently tell 

 you of one other thing I do not like, and that is showing at 

 the Ciystal Palace. Why? Why, can't you guess? Well, 

 ([uite confidentially, you know, I have to start from home 

 by the maU train (midnight), get to town in the "cold 

 raw " of e.arly morning, to the Balaco about 7 a.m., work 

 like a Turk (by-the-by, who ever knew a Turk to work? 

 Figure of speech you know), to get the stands set up, and 

 when all is done, can't got a decent breakfast till 1 p.m. ! 

 Of course one lives on tho excitement till the Roses are 

 set up, and then when one is clean used-up, tho " proto- 

 plasm'' wants, I think, feeding with a good breakfast 



No. 1800.— Vol. L., Old Sehies. 



