aos a ee aa = FO 
PROPS. 
Climbing roses may either be sup- 
ported by training against walls or 
trellis-work, or on single rods, with 
expanding parasol-like tops of wire- 
work ; or they may be supported on 
337 
7 
PROPS. 
of using straight rods of hazel, or 
some such wood, with “the bark on. 
The object in using the rods of this 
kind is not so much to avoid the 
appearance of the use of the instru- 
cones or pyramids of rods or poles.| ments of the carpenter, as to avoid 
NAA 
Fig. 43.—Props for Climbers. 
The stronger-growing climbing Ro- 
ses, which attain the height of 
twenty feet, or thirty feet, or up- 
ward, such as the double Ayrshire 
Rose, the Rose de Lille, the Bour- 
sault, R. Grevillii, or the Seven 
Sisters, Noisettes, &c., may be sup- 
ported on cones or pyramids two 
feet or three feet in diameter at the 
ground, and rising to the height of 
twenty feet, formed of the stems of 
young Fir trees tied togei \er: ten- 
der roses, on the other hand, such 
as Rosa Banksia, the Musk Rose, 
require to be trained against walls. 
Props for border-flowers may either 
be small rods made by splitting the 
laths used by plasterers or by car- 
penters from deal-board ; but per- 
haps the best mode, because least 
the conspicuousness which is the 
result of all artificial props, and es- 
pecially of such as are not painted 
green. The principle to be taken, 
as a guide is, that the rod should 
always be subordinate to the plant 
to be supported by it or trained on 
it. If this principle is kept con- 
stantly in view, few glaring errors 
will be committed either in forming 
supports for plants in pots, or for 
plants in the open ground. Hence 
walls on which plants are to be 
trained should never be built of 
bright red brick, or very . white 
stone ; or if they are plastered, the 
color should always be of a subdued 
kind. Some plants are trained up 
rods or cones for the sake of pro- 
ducing flowers ; and others, such as 
Ivy, when trained up an erect rod 
with an umbrella-like top for the 
sake of producing shade. When 
the object is flowers during the 
whole extent of the plant, the prop 
should always be wider at the base 
than at the top, in order that the 
foliage may enjoy the direct influ- 
ence of the sun and of perpendicu- 
lar rains during its whole extent ; 
and this may easily be effected by 
fixing a pole in the ground, with 
short sticks in the top, to which 
chains, ropes, or wires may be af- 
fixed, up which the plants may be 
trained. When the flowers are 
chiefly to be produced at the top, 
and the object of the stem is merely 
to elevate the top to a considerable 
distance from the ground, then the 
latter must spread over the former 
as much as may be desirable for the 
sake of effect. In like raanner, 
when the object is shade, or the 
<overing of a summer shelter or a 
artificial and ostentatious, is that | hower, the stems may be trained 
29 
