IM 



JOUENAL OF nORTICDLTUliB AND COTTAGE GABDENEB. 



( AngoBt X, ISat. 



fonnd it mnst eatirfactor;. I have many plants moasaring ap- 

 ^ards of 12 feet hi(;h, and covered with blooms (rem the base 

 to Ibe apex. — Henby C. Ogle, Wclicyn. 



AMONG THE ROSES. 



Not yonng love at bia pranks, bat old, sober, staid affection, 

 vhioh never tires of tbe objects of its love ; and as I bad lately 

 an oppnrtanity of payin;; a vi..<it to two of tbe most celebrated 

 of onr Rose Riirden.^ — ibo?e of Messrs. Bivers, of SawbriJfte- 

 wortb, and Messrs. Paul it Son, of Cbesbunt, I bave deemed 

 it well, notwithstanding tbe notes I have already Riven, to 

 append thereto a few remarks made in company with Mr. Perry 

 and Mr. George Paul. Tbe former has been among Roses for 

 many a long year until be baa grown grey in tbe service ; but 

 he Btill retains all tbe entlineiasm of youlb, mellowed, bow- 

 ever, with tbe experience -of asie. He sees not a Venus in 

 every new and bi^bly praised debutante, but be can and does 

 appreciate to the full ex'ent the lovely damsels who now and 

 then appear as brilliaLt stars in tbe train of the queen of 

 flowers. Like hi'? employer be loves tbe Rose, and rejoices 

 over tbe increnpcd and increasing favour she is receiving. 

 Of Mr. George Paul, it is not too much to say that be is tbe 

 most fucjeesful exhibitor that we have. Wherever be has 

 appeared this year (save once), with bis cut blooms, his spear 

 has brirne aown all bffore it, and I should think he might 

 paper bis room with the first-prize cards that be has obtained. 

 From su-.h sources one is sure to obtain some valuable in- 

 formation. 



It was on the principle of tbe " early bird getting the first 

 worm" that I sallied out in tbe morning before breakfast to 

 encounter Mr. Perry, and I do not Ibink that Mr. Perry con- 

 sidered he was a fooli^li worm to be out so early to be caught. 

 The morning was bri;!h', : and although in August one does 

 not expect the flowers of June, yet in that wonderful Hertford- 

 shire soil you may expect them if anywhere, and I did see 

 some very fine, yes, grand blooms. And as one saw quarter 

 after quarter of plants on the Macetti, the thought did arise. 

 What Would Uase-growing be now bad it not been for the intro- 

 duction of that stock by Mr. Pavers ? 



As we walked along, Roses were criticised and examined, and 

 opinions compared. We very seldom disagreed in our esti- 

 mate", and I now give the principal results of our little tour. 

 Paul Verdier must be discarded, as it is nothing more than a 

 Hybrid Gbina. Of Adrienne Marx tbe same must be eaiJ. 

 Charles Verdier, although bearing tbe name of an honest good 

 rosarian, must go, as it will not open. Jotupbine Beauharnais 

 is very giod, but not vigorous enough. Annie Wood is some- 

 times very fine, and will make a good pillar Rose. Monsieur 

 Noman is excellent, as we all consider it ; Antoine Duoher, 

 very good and fine ; Thorin, blight, but not full enough; Eu- 

 gfine ScriVie, good ; S luvenir de Monsieur Boll, very good this 

 season ; Fisher Holmes, very bright and good ; Souvenir de 

 Mons. Corval, no good ; Marie Larpin, a Bweot little Bourbon, 

 a Module de Perfection with a better habit. Boule de Neige is 

 a beautiful pure wLi'e; Ducbesfe d'Aoste, good; Frauijois 

 Fontaine, good crimson ; Ville de Lyon, good bright rose ; 

 Prince Humbert, good ; Merveille d'Anjon, no marvel at all, 

 and very flat ; Aurore du Matin, not good; and Madame Alice 

 Dnreau, a very nice Rose. CLquette des Alpes is very pretty, 

 especially when the edge of the petal is bordered ; Pitord, good ; 

 Charles Lee, bright crimson, good ; Thyra Hammerick, excel- 

 lent; Marquise de Mnrteraart. good; Madame Bertha Baron, 

 poor ; Mdlle. Marie Ridy, good ; and Mdllo. Marguerite Dom- 

 brain, excellent. It must be remembered that Mr. Rivera is 

 not now an exhibitor of Roses, and that these remarks do not 

 simply apply to tbe exhibiiion table, but are a general comment 

 on the flowers as they are. 



I started by midday train for Cbesbunt, and bad intended to 

 have paid Mr. Fraucis a visit at Hertford, but was obliged to 

 postpone that until later in the season. Of the Old Nurseries 

 of Mesprs. Paul k Son it is needless for mo to speak. They 

 have long been famius, and their wonderful soil, well seconded 

 as it is by the skill and experience of tbe present owner, tend to 

 keep them so. Here, too, 1 bad tbe advantage of a ramble through 

 the Rise grounds with Mr. George Paul, and as we went along 

 the following notes were made. Conspicuous among crimson 

 Roses was Duke of Ediuburgh, originated, as it is well known, 

 at this nursery — a Rose winch has improved very much fince 

 its first introduction, although then considered first-rate; it 

 has a brilliancy quite unsurpassed — nay, I may almost say 



nneqnaUed, reminding me of tbe blooms I saw of Napoleon IH. 

 at Vitry, but wbiob I have never seen on that milly Ilose since. 

 Then tbe constitution is so good and the habit sn fine, that 

 they add greatly to its value. I saw also here a Rose which 

 may be valuable by-and-by, a climbing Victor Verdier. Near 

 it was a row of tbe old kind, vigorous enough, but this had 

 shoots G and 8 feet long, retaining the fine flower of the parent 

 with this largely developed growth. Mr. Paul purposes grow- 

 ing it on and sending it oat in 1870, if it stiU maintain its 

 character. 



Then there were Madame Oaillat, good, clear bright red, and 

 a variegated-leaved form of the same ; Baroness Rothschild — 

 and is it not a beauty ? — considered justly on both sides of the 

 Channel as the best Hybrid Perpetual of 18G8; Reine du Midi, 

 doubtful; Mrs. Bellenden Ker, one of Lacharme's while breed, 

 like Baroune de Maynard, Sea. ; Mademoiselle Marie Cirodde, 

 over-praised, it may be suitable for a pillar from its vigorous 

 habit, but that, I believe, is all ; Princess Mary of Cambridge, 

 another of tbe Cbesbunt Ruses, and a very beautiful and useful 

 flower; Black I'rince, very dark; Camille Bemardio, excellent, 

 especially as a garden Rose ; Horace Vernet, very brilliant, 

 although a little crenated on the edge ; Madame ThCruse Levet, 

 a very beautiful bright cherry ro.-o, of fine form, and has 

 made a distinguished appearance this season in Messrs. Paul's 

 stands; Franc,' .is Trevye, bright scarlet, shaded with brownish 

 crimson ; Jean Lambert, a good scarlet, with open flowers, 

 very free in autumn, and quite distinct; Victor le Biban, 

 good ; Elie Morel, light rose, with clear pink edges, very fine; 

 Madame Alice Dureau, a large and full globular flower ; and La 

 France, fine, and excellent for its habit and coutinnons 

 blooming. 



Tbe stroll through these nurseries suggested to me the de- 

 sirability of making plantations of Ro^es on tl eir own roots 

 now. It is not everybody, like my good friend Mr. Radclyfie, 

 who can move Manetti-stocked Roses in August ; but Roses 

 in pets of mo.'^t of tbe good kinds can now be bed, and if pat 

 out at once, a eeason would be gained. Already the cry, "They 

 come! they come!" is heard. Guillot has tome fine new 

 Teas ; Licbarme, I am told, a fine dark R se ; and when one 

 hears growers praise another man's productions, alas ! such is 

 human nature, you may generally conclude that there is some- 

 thing in it. 



Why do not some of our omateur growers give us their ex- 

 perience of tbe different varieties, mentioning their soils and 

 situations ? it would be a valuable guide to others. Doubtless, 

 they are often deterred because they think there is nothing 

 novel in what they have to say ; but facts are always novel — 

 ('.i:., they bear on some case or point on which light is thrown 

 by them. If a man says his soil is heavy, and such-and-such 

 Roses are good, I am at once, if my soil is similar, stirred up 

 to think perhaps they would do with me too, and the foot 

 becomes a novelty to me. So pray do not let Mr. Radclj£fe, 

 Mr. Hole, and myself, monopolise the Rose talk. I had written 

 thus far when a note came in by post from Mr. Radclyfle, 

 telling me be bad won tbe two first prizes at Blandlord. He 

 says he had l.")!) there, and that Duke of Edinburgh, Marguerite 

 de St. Amand, and Baron Hausmann, were among tbe best 

 that he saw at the show. — D., Deal. 



DO BIRDS EAT ALPINE STRA^TOERRTES ■' 



I OBSERVE in your last number the question, " Do Birds Eat 

 Alpine Strawberries ?" and as my experience may not be un- 

 interesting to your correspondent " H.," I may mention that 

 four or five years ago a couple of packets of Alpine Strawberry 

 seed (white and red), were purchased. The seed was sovm in 

 pans in the middle of March, on a little heat ; the plants when 

 up were hardened-off, pricked out into boxes, and placed in a 

 cold frame, and finally planted out in the end of May. A fair 

 crop of fruit of very fine quality was the result that autumn ; 

 but by some chance tbe beds in which tbe plants were grown 

 were not netted, and it was remarked at the time as something 

 quite peculiar, that though the other fruit in the garden was 

 beginning to bo scarce, yet not a single Alpine was touched by 

 the birds. 



The following year, ard ever since, we bave had tbe most 

 abundant crops of Alpines (the runners are never cut), about 

 the first Strawberries that ripen, lasting the whole summer in 

 tbe greatest prolusion ; and at the present moment, August 

 23rd, they are still going on, not a net ever having been near 

 them, though, be it remarked, with regard to other fruit— 



