ROSA. 
Greenhouse and Stove Plants. 
305 
have the whole of the shoots shortened so 
far back as to keep the specimens in a suf- 
ficiently compact form without too much 
formality ; by this means they can be kept 
in a healthy blooming state for years, and 
when they get as large as required, they 
must not be potted oftener than every 
second year, but may be had in a vigorous 
condition by the use of manure-water. 
When they have arrived at this stage it is 
well to cut the plants back after they have 
completed their first bloom, and as soon as 
they have broken turn them out of the 
pots, reduce the ball one-third or so and 
return them to the same pots. By carry- 
ing out the operation at this season, there 
will be time enough for the roots to get 
possession of the new soil, and to make 
stout growth before winter, which will 
bloom satisfactorily the ensuing summer. 
So managed, the plants will last for many 
years. They will also bear heading down to 
within a few inches of the pot, but in this 
case the operation should be performed 
early in the spring, just as growth is about 
to commence, first letting the soil get 
moderately dry, at once placing the plants 
ina brisk heat, and giving no water, ex- 
cept by syringing overhead, until the 
cut-back stools have pushed shoots. When 
these have advanced 2 inches or 3 inches, 
the balls may be freely reduced and placed 
in smaller pots, after which the stopping of 
the shoots and subsequent treatment may 
be in accordance with the manner in which 
the young plants have been advised to be 
grown. 
Insects.—Mealy bug and scale will live 
on the Rondeletia, but do not thrive as on 
foliage of a more succulent description. 
When affected, the best remedy is washing 
with strong applications of insecticide in 
.the autumn when growth is complete. 
Thrips, if present in the house or pit in 
which it is grown, will also attack it. 
These can be best destroyed by fumigation 
or washing with tobacco-water. 
ROSA. 
Roses have always held the first place as 
outdoor flowers, and of late years their 
cultivation under glass has been much ex- 
tended and greatly improved, especially in 
the treatment required to produce bloom 
during the winter and early spring months. 
The great difficulty to contend with in 
forcing Roses has always been the natural 
susceptibility of the foliage to mildew, 
much increased in the soft, delicate leaves 
produced in artificial warmth. But ex- 
perience has shown that Roses can be so 
treated under glass as to reduce the attacks 
of the parasite within such limits that it 
can be easily dealt with. The free admis- 
sion of air, so necessary in the case of other 
plants to prevent mildew, is found with 
Roses grown in heat to be the certain 
means of causing it: the least current of 
cold air coming in contact with the tender 
leaves in winter and early spring is all but 
sure to be followed by mildew. Whatever 
air is given during the time above-named 
should be at the ridge of the house alone, 
and this in small quantities. It will thus 
be seen that Roses to be grown as they 
should be in the early part of the year re- 
quire a house to ictacelined 
Many of the hybrid perpetuals and the 
Noisettes answer well for indoor culture, 
but the Tea varieties are most to be de- 
pended on, especially for flowering in 
winter and spring. Roses for pot culture 
will do either on their own roots, or on the 
different stocks usually employed. Cut- 
tings may be struck at different seasons in 
the spring, using the immature young 
shoots obtained from plants that have been 
grownin warmth. Put five or six together 
round the sides of small pots filled with 
sand, and keep moderately close, moist, 
and shaded in a temperature of about 60° ; 
so treated, the greater part will strike, 
after which gradually inure them to the 
air of the house or pit in which they stand. 
Give them plenty of light, with shade 
when it is sunny, and admit whatever air 
is found necessary to prevent the tempera- 
ture from rising too high, as far away from 
the plants as possible. When they have 
got plenty of roots move singly to 3 or 4 
inch pots, using good strong loam, with 
some manure and a little sand added, 
pressed solid in the pots. Keep in a grow- 
ing temperature, and stop the points when 
they have made some growth. A cold 
frame or pit will do for them during the 
summer, with a little shade when the 
weather is bright ; give water as needed, 
and syringe freely in the afternoons. To- 
wards autumn give more air, and winter 
them out of the reach of frost. The Tea 
varieties are scarcely ever at rest, except 
when kept so cold as to stop growth, and 
if they can be accommodated through the 
winter with a greenhouse temperature, or 
a few degrees higher, they will gain much 
in size ; where such is available move them 
into pots a size or two larger in the 
autumn, shortening the shoots a little at 
the same time. In this way they will 
make pretty plants before spring, pro- 
ducing a nice sprinkling of flowers. All 
that is further required with the Tea 
varieties under notice is to continue to 
treat as in the preceding summer, shading 
20 ’ 
