JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



WEEKLY CALENDAR. 



KOSES. 



EES after week have we I'osarians tnrned 

 over the pages of the Bose journal, and, 

 with the exception of a slight squabble 

 about Beauty of Glazenwood, no line has 

 been written upon the subject so dear to 

 our hearts. What is the cause ? Is it 

 the east wind which has been blowing 

 here without intermission ever since 

 Easter ? or is it that " love is gi-owing 

 cold " and that Roses Jo not command 

 that devotion they once did, or is it that there is nothing 

 to write about ? 



Sometimes I think that the second is the real cause — 

 that the rage for Eoses and Bose shows is abating, for 

 many signs point to that result. The Crystal Palace has 

 sent ont one of the meanest schedules I have ever seen. 

 When first I showed Boses there they gave four prizes 

 to each class ; a year or two afterwards they reduced the 

 number to three, and now this year they have docked 

 all the third prizes ; they have also taken away the close 

 classes. I mean there is nothing to prevent two men 

 taking the prizes in every class. If two amateurs whom 

 I need not name are in great form they will divide all 

 the prizes, and we poor little exhibitors will be left out 

 in the cold, and I shall have to return to my wood a 

 tvylder savage than I came out. 



The Aquarium, again, that wonderful establishment 

 which opened without fish, but with such a high-sounding 

 prospectus about educating the nation and elevating the 

 tastes of the people, having now obtained the fish, turn 

 out the flowers, and instead of encouraging the growth of 

 Boses, &c., by holding shows, shoot out young ladies 

 from cannons, &c. The Alexandra Falacc re-opens at 

 Whitsuntide, but makes no sign as to a Eoso show. As 

 to the Boyal Horticultural Society, it appears to be re- 

 gaining lost ground, and next year we may hope will be 

 able once more to give prizes and hold its usual Bose 

 show. But the result of all that precedes is that we 

 shall only have one Bose show in London or the suburbs 

 worthy of the name — namely, that of the National Eose 

 Society, which we rosarians have formed unaided by 

 any of the old societies or companies ; so that there is 

 some ground for hinting that concerning Bose shows 

 " love may be growing cold." 



Another sign is that, so far as I can hear, this National 

 Bose Society is not making the progress one could wish. 

 And I would urge upon all rosarians — upon all men and 

 women who love Boses whether they show them or 

 not, to support this Society by becoming members. The 

 subscription to the Society is only lil.s., and for which 

 tickets to the Show in St. James's Hall wiU be given 

 which will admit before the general public. The fixture, 

 July 4th, ip, aa it turns out, one of the very best that 

 could have been made. I never knew Bo.'ies so backward 

 as they are here in the west. Hercules and I pruned 

 late on purpose to suit the National, and aa it has 

 turned out we could not have done better. The cold 



Kg. 842.- Vol. XXXIL, Kzw SEBiaet 



winds that we have had since Easter have kept the Eoses 

 back so much that they are now only just shooting, so 

 that I doubt very much whether the Crystal Palace Com- 

 pany will not have to change theh" day. I never knew a 

 more favourable season than this has been so far for 

 Eoses. The mild winter continued till March was nearly 

 over — till we had completed pruning, and then the cold 

 winds began which prevented the Boses growing and so 

 being injured by the frost. I believe that we shall have 

 a splendid season for Boses, although it may be late. 



1 have lately been observing with great care the growth 

 of different varieties of Tea-scented Boses, and it may 

 not be amiss to state here the results. I have many Teas 

 planted in v.arious aspects and in different soils. Some 

 are on the seedling Briar and some are on the dwarf- 

 Briar, and others arc worked on tall standards. I have 

 observed the growth of various kinds, and I have come 

 to the conclusion that some of the more recent acquisi- 

 tions, most beautiful though they are, and to be prized 

 above rubies in a Bose house, are too tender to be grown 

 successfully out of doors. I think it will be granted by 

 my Eose brethren that Comtesse de Nadaillac is one of 

 the loveliest Teas sent out since Catherine Mermet. The 

 growth of this, however, is weak, and it is so excessively 

 tender that outdoor culture under the most favourable 

 circumstances is next to an impossibility. The same 

 remark applies to those gems Madame Jules M.argottin 

 and Perle des Jardins, new plants purchased from one of 

 the best houses in the trade. Tliese Boses are on the 

 seedling Briar, and in spite of the mild winter they have 

 aU died down to the ground. As soon as we have some 

 mild weather I shall give them a " pick-me-up " in the 

 shape of hquid guano, but I have very faint hopes that 

 they will give good blooms for the shows. Souvenir de 

 Paul Neron grows magnificently with me on the standard, 

 but hardly at all on the seedling Briar. Of other Teas 

 comparatively new and of great beauty I have two which 

 grow splendidly on both stocks — viz., Jean Ducher and 

 Marie Guillot; and yet, strange to say, all these varieties 

 with the solitary exception of Comtesse de Nadaillac are 

 marked "vigorous" in the catalogue of the nurseryman, 

 from whom I purchased them. 



The most vigorous, however, of all Tea Boses is (with. 

 mo at least) that priceless jewel Marie Van Houtte, and. 

 yet Mr. Cranston calls it a moderate grower in his cata- 

 logue, and in answer to my protest assures me that it is 

 a very poor grower with him. I hope anyone who reads 

 these notes will compare them with his own experience 

 and let us know through the Bose journal how these 

 Boses grow with him. Next to Marie Van Houtte I 

 should place Bubens as a grand grower. It is not often 

 you can get a fully-expanded bloom of this variety worth 

 looking at, but what Eose can excel her in the bud ? 

 What glorious half-opened blooms does she sometimes 

 gives u.";, uuhke any other variety ! while she is one of 

 the freest bloomers I know. Then next as a good grower 

 I .should place Souvenir d'un Ami, which is one of the 

 grandest of Tea Eoses, and not to be surpassed by any 

 other early in the season before the July sun has taken 

 No. 1194.— V«L. LVII, Old SEBisg. 



