STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 219 



Many people in Minneapolis have more or less varieties of these 

 roses, but one scarcely ever sees a bloom on them except in the 

 spring, making them of no more value than a June, while my remon- 

 tants were always in bloom from June till October, more especially 

 the General Jacquiminots, the result of constant and severe prun- 

 ing. I was experimenting with some new remontants the season 

 before we sold our place, and found one — Madame Marie Tuiger — 

 a very choice acquisition, an improved (if possible) La France, and 

 another, I am not quite sure of the name, but think it was Adele 

 Carriere, was a lovely rose and a constant bloomer.^' 



Ref'ering again to Dr. Mead's contribution last year, on rose cul- 

 ture, I give here another letter from him on the same subject: 



LETTER FROM DR. MEaD. 



Washington, D. C, Jan. 3, 1884. 

 Secretarij Gihhs : 



In reply to yours requesting some further notes on rose culture 

 I have only to say that the last year was not a ^ood rose year for 

 this part of the country, and we were obliged to put up with many 

 disappointments. I have no reason to lower my praise of any that 

 I mentioned before: but believe that if we would grow tur teas 

 under glass we would get much more satisfactory results than 

 growing them in the open border, — still as but few of the real 

 lovers of the rose are able to grow them in this way, the greatest 

 benefit will be done by a systematic study for the purpose of 

 ascertaining which roses will prove the best for out-door culture 

 in dlifferent sections of the country. Here we get very good results 

 with the Marshal Niel grown out of doors with protection in the 

 winter. As the thermometer seldom gets below zero here, very little 

 protection is required, the main point being to keep it from freez- 

 ing and thawing, as it is this process that kills plant and tree life 

 more than the simple freezing. Solfaterre, another choice Noi- 

 sette, does well in the op^n border with slight protection. Of 

 course neither of these would live through your hard winters thus 

 treated, and occasionally they are greatly injured here. Of the teas 

 very few need any protection. Last winter I covered my Perle des 

 Jardins and Jean Pernet with a few others, but do not think they 

 were very much benefitted thereby. For this winter I simply bent 

 the tall growers to the ground and shall let them so remain till 

 spring, except with Marshal Niel. As the teas are such lovely 

 roses, so sweet, beautiful and prolific, I think you could well afford 

 to cultivate them even though you should have to raise them in 

 tlie fall and place them in your cellars during the winters. By 

 this process you would lose some, but after a few years thus treat- 

 ing them, you would learn their habits and requirements so that 

 the loss would be reduced to a minimum. The secret would be to 

 let the wood get well ripened before lilting, and then placing them 

 in a light room (cellar) with sufficient moisture to keep the roots 

 from becoming dry. They should not be planted out before all 



