102 



joubnaIj of horticulture and cottage gardener. 



C Fcbruiuy 6, 18CC. 



Formation of their Flower Giirdoii''," a work designed expressly 

 to meet the prcvailini.' taste for the beiiaiiiK-out or groupin'^ 

 style. He was also a frequent contributor to tlio "Gardener's 

 Magazine," under the conductorship of that eminent man, 

 Mr. .J. C. lioudon, who hit;lily appreciated his jilan-s nnd papers 

 on landscape gardening and other subjects. He delighted in 

 ■works of philanthropy. He assisted in the forinatiun of the 

 first Sunday school in Leeds, of which he wii-; su]iprintendcnt 

 for many years ; and all religious nnd cliarituble institutions 

 he took great interest in and actively promoted. >lis personal 

 qn^ties were of a high order. He was of a cheerful dispo- 

 sition, simple in his tastes and habits, and impressed all who 

 had the good fortune to know him as being a thoroughly kind- 

 hearted and estimable man. Ho was highly appreciated by 

 his workmen ; and as an evidence of this, six of them served 

 him fifty, forty-two, forty, thirty-two, twciity-uiue, and twenty 

 years respectively. After upwards of Imlfa century devoted 

 to his profession with an ardour and perseverance rarely 

 equalled, he died on theUCth of January, at the advanced age 

 of seventy-nine years. 



ROSES. 



I THAN-K Mr. Eobson for his appreciation of my Rose articles. 

 I agree with him that Roses on their own roots, in suitable 

 soil, highly cnltivated, and well watered, succeed well. Still, 

 Roses are volatile flowers, and one cannot predicate a uni- 

 versal of them. Some that will not do well on any stock 

 ■will succeed very well on their own roots, and vicr rcrsi'i. The 

 character of the soil and of the summer affects some. Roses 

 on their own roots, and also on the briar, require better soil 

 than those on the Manetti ; they also need more manure and 

 more ■n-ater. On their own roots, when well established with 

 firm roots, they will withstand more severe ■neather than those 

 on the briar or Manetti. They have this advantage also, that 

 if the wood of the current year is injured by the wind beating 

 off the foliage (the lungs), or by blights or fungoid diseases, 

 you may in the year following cut them down close to the 

 groimd. 



Mr. Robson says that Roses on their own roots are not so 

 affected by aphides as the Manetti or briar Roses. Trobably 

 this arises fi^om their slower and less succulent p^owth. Both 

 fungi and aphides take hold of the young follicles, which, in 

 Roses on their own roots, may be of a less succulent or less 

 tempting character. I find here that Roses on the briar are 

 not so fine as Roses gi-own on the Manetti. I have compara- 

 tively few on their otvn roots to draw a comparison by. I have 

 fine plants of Souvenir de Jlalmaison on their own roots and 

 also on Manetti. I see no dilYerence between them. I have 

 also a nimiber of plants of Triomphe de Rennes — a most first- 

 rate Rose, which is never out of bloom here, and never hiis a 

 hlind end — on its own roots, on the briar, and on Manetti. I 

 cannot tell which is best. 



I observe that Mr. Robson prunes in winter. I have for an 

 experiment pruned this winter, beginning at Christmas, every 

 Rose here. I have just finished. This may be too early ; but 

 I am satisfied that, in order to meet the shows, which are far 

 too late for a well-managed rosery, we cut them back too late. 

 Properly speaking, the time to cut them is when the eyes look 

 full and fresh. It is true, the spring frosts may cut off the 

 first shoot ; but that matters not, as there are usually two 

 other eyes more or less dormant. Those will start later and 

 synchi'onously, nnd one of them may be cut off. Usually from 

 the 10th to tlie 15th of March is the time to cut bnck Perpetuals. 

 Teas want but little cutting, and should be cut later. Hybrid 

 Chinas and summer Roses may be cut back in February. 

 Tea-scented Noisettes against south walls may be cut back 

 earUer than any of them, if blooms are desired in Mny. I 

 ■want not the Yellow Banksian. Solfaterre, Gloire de Pijon. 

 Triomphe de Rennes, and Celine Forestier — four admirable 

 yellow Roses — begin here in May, and never stop till winter is 

 severe. They are hardier than Teas, and bear a gieater pro- 

 fusion of bloom. I have put Gloire de Dijon and Triomphe 

 de Rennes among the Tea-scented Noisettes, because they ap- 

 pear to belong to that class. M. K. Verdier puts the former 

 among the Noisettes, and the latter among the Teas. 



With regard to Manetti suckers, it is the fault of the planter. 

 Briar suckers give gi'e.at trouble here, hut I hardly know what 

 Manetti suckers are. They rarely como from the roots, and 

 rarely from the stock after the first year. It is seldom that 

 they spring from that here. The way to plant them is as 



follows : Open your trenches, and put rotten dnng along the 

 line; put in a little earth on that, then ]iut the jilnnt on it, 

 and ciiver with earth and dung alternately, treading it in hard, 

 and close against the stock, till you have risen 2 or 3 inches 

 above the point of union. By the exclusion of the air the eyes in 

 the stock will die. By planting the Manetti stock above ground, 

 or by admitting air, you will have a " furze brake " of Manetti 

 instead of Rose wood. It is the easiest miiiiagcd and least 

 troublesome slock in the world. Before planting Manetti 

 Roses look over the stock, and cut out such eyes as you see. 



This leads me to Mr. Robson's particular request in the last 

 paragroph of his article with regard to Tea Hoses on their own 

 roots. Mine is not Ten Rose land, nor is the place adapted for 

 them. I know but little about them. Tea Roses out of doors 

 are out of bounds. The finest grower here is Sombreuil on its 

 own roots. 1 have no healthier or hardier Rose at this place. 

 It never blights, and carries its foliage in the most severe winters. 

 I have it good also on the two other stocks. Eliso Sauvage is 

 good on the Manetti : a strong plant on its own roots has died. 

 I have these good on Manetti — Adam, Rubens, and Elise 

 Vardon. I have of Uevoniensis several plants, good on their 

 own roots. La Boule d'Or is very good on the Manetti, and 

 is one of the liarditst. It produced at one time in summer 

 twenty-three blooms, which opened well. It also bloomed well 

 in September. Usually it is a hard opener. I have only one 

 other Tea Rose, the gift of Mr. HoUingworth — La Sylphide ; it 

 is on its own roots and does well. I have no doubt that if yon 

 take the whole body of Teas, and mean to kee)) them perma- 

 nently out of doors, that it is best to have them on their own 

 roots, taking great care of their roots for a winter or so. After 

 that, unless in the case of such delicate Roses as Elise Sauvage, 

 you need not fear the winter more for them than for any other 

 Roses. If their wood is injured you can cut them to the stiunp, 

 and they will be the better of it. Mr. Hollingw orth, of Turkey 

 Mills, Miiidstone, would be better able than I am to speak on 

 this matter. — W. F. RAOfLVFFE, Tarrant liiishluii. 



THE MODERN PEACH-PRUNER.— Xo. 21. 



VAKIATIONS OF PEACHES AXD NECTARINES FROM SEED. 

 (From tho Fruit Record of Sawbriilgcworth.) 



Tin; great increase in the number of varieties of the Peacb 

 and Nectarine which are now cultivated is due to the intro- 

 duction of orchard-houses. By these means a long succession 

 of fruit is obtained. Very early and late sorts thus matured 

 arc of immense advantage. Of course, with the increased 

 number of sorts the difficulty of proper selection keeps pace. 

 It is, therefore, necessary to add a list of choice kinds. The 

 Peach-fancier, however, can now raise varieties from seed for 

 himself, and by judicious fei-tilising obtain new ?orts, the 

 fruiting of which will at least be a source of infinite pleasure. 

 Having myself experienced this satisfaction, and successfully 

 fruited some fine Georgian varieties (such as Exquisite. Golden 

 Purple, Canary, Thomas's Late, Baldwin's Late, and Stump- 

 the-'World), besides holding a number of fine seedlings as yet 

 untruitcd liere, it occurred to me to obtain further information 

 on this interesting point ; and the answer of Mr. Rivers is as 

 follows : — 



" The seedlings of 1865 were about two hundied in number. 

 Their qualities and dc\-iations from the parent stock have been 

 accurately noted down. They are numbered for reference, and 

 dates of ripening added. 



" No. 1. August luth. An orange Nectarine from Fair- 

 child's Early. Liable to crack. 



'■ No. 2. August ICth. A seedling from Early York, hut 

 having leaves with glands, and thus not liable to mildew. 

 Flowers large, like the parent, and the only one out of twenty 

 which deviated from the parent stock. 



" No. ;i. Oct. 1st. A seedling from a yellow clingstone. 

 Small hut rich, with large flowers. 



"No. -1. Sept. 'iuth. A very large clingstone fromEpIy 

 York, in tlie third generation. This is a remarkable variation, 

 with the large flowers of the race. 



" No. 5. Sept. -tth. A Peach raised from the Balgowan 

 Nectarine. Small, rich, with small flowers. 



" No. 0. August lllth. A large Peach from Peche Dt'^niaus. 

 Of a delicate cream colour, slightly tinted with red under the 

 skin ; firm flesh, and delicious aroma. The parent I found in 

 a small nursery in Brittany as a robust standard. This re- 

 markable Peach has been since named Dr. Hogg, and is first-rate. 



