THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 21 
a string around the rim of each pot, then bring gently down the 
point of each shoot to the string, so that when all the branches are 
brought down they may be likened to an umbrella turned inside out ; 
this training or bringing down of the branches and twigs is indis- 
pensable, as it regulates the sap and causes them to break right 
back, thereby laying the foundation for good plants in future years. 
If plants are not wanted to bloom until May they can be grown 
in a cold frame; they must be encouraged into growth by keeping 
them close and syringing two or three times a day with tepid water. 
If rain-water is not procurable always, stand some pots of water in 
the sun to prevent that sediment which is so often found on the 
foliage of plants after using hard water. Keep them near to the 
glass in order to obtain as much light as possible, and keep them 
close until the buds begin to burst strongly all over the plants, when 
air must be given as weather permits. Carefully avoid cold currents, 
and always shut up early to husband the natural heat. In the 
morning you will be rewarded by finding the edges of the leaves 
covered with beads of dew, and all bearing a fresh and thriving 
appearance. 
About this time the anxious grower will have to keep more than 
an ordinary look-out for that most hateful of all pests (to the 
rosarian), the Rose maggot, which coils itself in the half-expanded 
leaves, and, if not detected, drills its way into the hearts of the 
flower-buds, which are more or less injured, and fall off; besides, 
the foliage will present a riddled and unsightly appearance. Wher- 
ever a curl appears there the enemy will be found lurking, and a 
simple pressure between the forefinger and thumb is the best way 
to settle him. Greenfly will sometimes be found troublesome, and 
if they cannot be kept under with the syringe, a smoking or two 
will soon settle them. I have invariably found, as the plants gained 
strength, that a good wash from a tolerably coarse rose watering-can 
was more effectual than syringing. 
As soon as the buds appear well above the foliage the plants 
should be trained into a pyramidal shape, taking care to distribute 
regularly the flower-buds all over your plants. First have some 
neat sticks at hand, such as small osiers used in the making of 
baskets, which are suitable from their light green appearance. Place 
some of these sticks in a slanting position on the rim of the pot, and 
bring the lowest and most forward buds down to the sticks, care- 
fully cutting away all the ties made when the plants were first 
pruned. Continue to bring each of the growing shoots to the sticks 
placed equally all over your plant, from the rim to the summit, until 
anice pyramidal shape is attained. This training again balances 
the sap throughoat the whole plant, and the result is a quantity of 
blooms at the same time, which is every exhibitor’s aim, and which 
result could not be obtained were the plants allowed to take their 
course ; the stronger would outgrow and rob the weaker, and conse- 
quently bloom first. Should any of the buds show colour before the 
rest, many of the varieties will allow of something being tied around 
the bud, thereby to delay its opening, and in some cases cause an 
otherwise flat bloom to become cupped, as in the case of Anna ~ 
January, 
